Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2020 XA5

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2020 XA5)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.045 AU
True anomaly
149.3°
Distance from Earth
0.54 AU
As of
17 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 XA5 — 1.045 AU from the Sun 2020 XA5
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2020 XA5 is 0.54 AU from Earth today (4.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 21m 46s
Declination
+10° 37′ 22″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
0.54 AU
Elongation from the Sun
80.15° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.821 AU
Eccentricity
0.3837
Inclination
4.4°
Orbital period
271.6 days
Perihelion
0.506 AU
Aphelion
1.136 AU
Longitude of ascending node
146.73°
Argument of periapsis
118.64°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 10.0 LD
0.0256 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.071

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
53
Data arc
6.15 years
First observed
24 November 2017
Last observed
17 January 2024
Residual RMS
0.51 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
17 January 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.29

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 300 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2020 XA5 at 2027-01-27 00:12 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-27 00:12 UTC close approach of 2020 XA5. Catalogue miss distance 15.3 LD · 5.86 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-24 to 2027-01-30, 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 30 Jan 15.3 LD · 5.86 × 10⁶ km 2027-01-27 00:12 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-27 00:12 UTC close approach of 2020 XA5. Catalogue miss distance 15.3 LD · 5.86 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-24 to 2027-01-30, 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
2027-01-27 00:12:00 Earth 0.0392 AU 15.3 LD 9.8 km/s
2027-05-23 22:22:00 Venus 0.1407 AU 54.8 LD 20.7 km/s
2029-07-24 14:28:00 Earth 0.4787 AU 186.3 LD 17.3 km/s
2030-01-26 22:30:00 Earth 0.1061 AU 41.3 LD 13.9 km/s
2032-07-09 21:25:00 Earth 0.4997 AU 194.5 LD 18.9 km/s
2033-01-22 11:09:00 Earth 0.2452 AU 95.4 LD 18.5 km/s
2033-03-23 10:20:00 Mercury 0.0835 AU 32.5 LD 15 km/s
2033-03-23 10:20:00 Merc 0.0835 AU 32.5 LD 15 km/s
2036-01-17 18:06:00 Earth 0.3864 AU 150.4 LD 23.2 km/s
2037-11-17 16:53:00 Earth 0.4052 AU 157.7 LD 23.5 km/s

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

Sources