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Asteroid Near-Earth

2020 XC3

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(2020 XC3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.122 AU
True anomaly
312.95°
Distance from Earth
0.412 AU
As of
11 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth 2020 XC3 — 1.122 AU from the Sun 2020 XC3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2020 XC3 is 0.412 AU from Earth today (3.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
01h 13m 43s
Declination
-76° 13′ 11″
Constellation
Hydrus
Distance from Earth
0.41 AU
Elongation from the Sun
96.43° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
2.078 AU
Eccentricity
0.5186
Inclination
21.37°
Orbital period
3 years
Perihelion
1 AU
Aphelion
3.156 AU
Longitude of ascending node
76.57°
Argument of periapsis
339.1°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 13.9 LD
0.0358 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.51

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
204
Data arc
3.03 years
First observed
9 December 2020
Last observed
19 December 2023
Residual RMS
0.43 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
21 December 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.55

Discovery & classification

Apollo Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 16 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2020 XC3 at 2026-12-08 00:44 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-08 00:44 UTC close approach of 2020 XC3. Catalogue miss distance 14.5 LD · 5.56 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-05 to 2026-12-11, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 14.5 LD · 5.56 × 10⁶ km 2026-12-08 00:44 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-08 00:44 UTC close approach of 2020 XC3. Catalogue miss distance 14.5 LD · 5.56 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-05 to 2026-12-11, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2026-12-08 00:44:00 Earth 0.0371 AU 14.5 LD 14.3 km/s
2029-12-05 20:37:00 Earth 0.0386 AU 15.0 LD 14.1 km/s
2032-12-04 10:27:00 Earth 0.0491 AU 19.1 LD 13.9 km/s
2035-12-01 23:25:00 Earth 0.0796 AU 31.0 LD 13.7 km/s
2038-11-27 07:02:00 Earth 0.1279 AU 49.8 LD 13.5 km/s
2041-11-20 02:37:00 Earth 0.1976 AU 76.9 LD 13.8 km/s
2044-11-14 05:53:00 Earth 0.2547 AU 99.1 LD 14.3 km/s
2047-11-07 07:21:00 Earth 0.32 AU 124.5 LD 15.2 km/s
2050-10-30 03:44:00 Earth 0.3867 AU 150.5 LD 16.5 km/s
2053-10-19 20:42:00 Earth 0.4642 AU 180.6 LD 18.3 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources