2020 AP1

2020 AP1
Discovery[1]
Discovered byMLS
Discovery siteMount Lemmon Obs.
Discovery date4 January 2020
Designations
2020 AP1
NEOApollo[2]
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 2020-May-31 (JD 2459000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 7
Observation arc1 day
Aphelion2.196 AU (328,500,000 km) (Q)
Perihelion0.9810 AU (146,760,000 km) (q)
1.588 AU (237,600,000 km) (a)
Eccentricity0.3824 (e)
2.002 yr
77.83° (M)
Inclination2.256° (i)
101.2° (Ω)
25 December 2021
349.7° (ω)
Earth MOID0.0014 AU (210,000 km; 0.54 LD)
Jupiter MOID3.0 AU (450,000,000 km)
Physical characteristics
3–7 meters (CNEOS)
29.6[2]

2020 AP1 is an Apollo near-Earth object roughly 5 meters (20 feet) in diameter. On 2 January 2020 it passed 0.00218 AU (326 thousand km; 0.85 LD) from Earth. With a short 1-day observation arc it was roughly expected to pass about 0.01 AU (1.5 million km; 3.9 LD) from Earth on 7 January 2022, but with an uncertainty of ±8 days for the close approach date it could have passed significantly closer or further.

2022 close approach[2]
Date JPL SBDB
nominal geocentric
distance
uncertainty
region
(3-sigma)
2022-01-07.7 ± 8.3 days 1.7 million km ± 2.5 million km[3]
  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference MPEC2020-A67 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference jpldata was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Horizons2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).