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Asteroid Near-Earth

2020 XY4

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(2020 XY4)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.562 AU
True anomaly
4.69°
Distance from Earth
1.539 AU
As of
19 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.

Sun Earth — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2020 XY4 — 0.562 AU from the Sun 2020 XY4
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2020 XY4 is 1.539 AU from Earth today (12.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 08m 40s
Declination
-13° 14′ 20″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.54 AU
Elongation from the Sun
7.29° — too close to the Sun to observe

Visible from both hemispheres.

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
0.863 AU
Eccentricity
0.3495
Inclination
1.12°
Orbital period
292.9 days
Perihelion
0.561 AU
Aphelion
1.165 AU
Longitude of ascending node
261.34°
Argument of periapsis
319.07°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 1.0 LD
0.0026 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.792

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
83
Data arc
4.02 years
First observed
11 December 2020
Last observed
18 December 2024
Residual RMS
0.55 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
19 December 2024

Physical properties

Rotation period
0.09 hours

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.93

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 126 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2020 XY4 at 2028-12-15 04:25 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-12-15 04:25 UTC close approach of 2020 XY4. Catalogue miss distance 31.3 LD · 1.2 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-12-12 to 2028-12-18, 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. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 31.3 LD · 1.2 × 10⁷ km 2028-12-15 04:25 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-12-15 04:25 UTC close approach of 2020 XY4. Catalogue miss distance 31.3 LD · 1.2 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-12-12 to 2028-12-18, 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. 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
2028-06-25 22:29:00 Venus 0.0791 AU 30.8 LD 9.1 km/s
2028-12-15 04:25:00 Earth 0.0804 AU 31.3 LD 7.7 km/s
2030-09-28 01:37:00 Venus 0.1257 AU 48.9 LD 8.5 km/s
2032-12-05 04:31:00 Earth 0.1234 AU 48.0 LD 7.4 km/s
2036-07-07 18:21:00 Venus 0.1042 AU 40.6 LD 16.6 km/s
2036-11-23 04:29:00 Earth 0.1544 AU 60.1 LD 7.6 km/s
2040-11-10 07:03:00 Earth 0.1715 AU 66.7 LD 7.8 km/s
2041-02-17 20:22:00 Venus 0.1021 AU 39.7 LD 16.3 km/s
2044-10-29 22:19:00 Earth 0.1723 AU 67.1 LD 7.8 km/s
2046-12-02 02:28:00 Venus 0.1061 AU 41.3 LD 8.8 km/s

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

Sources