2020 QG

2020 QG
2020 QG imaged as a streak of light by the Zwicky Transient Facility on 16 August 2020
Discovery[1][2]
Discovered byZwicky Transient Facility
Discovery sitePalomar Obs.
Discovery date16 August 2020
Designations
2020 QG
ZTF0DxQ[3]
NEO · Apollo[1]
Orbital characteristics[4]
Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 6
Observation arc1.6 days[1][a]
Aphelion2.8933±0.0009 AU
Perihelion0.99628 AU
1.9448±0.0006 AU
Eccentricity0.48772±0.0002
2.71 yr (990.51±0.47 d)
337.41±0.011°
0° 21m 48.696s / day
Inclination5.4727±0.004°
143.50°
1 August 2020 03:43 UT
162.01±0.003°
Earth MOID0.00027 AU (40,000 km)
Physical characteristics
~3 m (est. at ~0.17)[3]
2–14 m (est. at 0.01–0.60)[3]
29.87±0.25[4]

2020 QG, also known by its internal designation ZTF0DxQ,[3] is an Earth-crossing asteroid, a few meters in diameter. It belongs to the Apollo group, and passed above the surface of Earth approximately 2,950 kilometres (1,830 mi) away[b] (less than half an Earth radius) on 16 August 2020 at 04:09 UT.[4] It was first imaged by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) at the Palomar Observatory about 6 hours after this closest approach, and was later identified by Kunal Deshmukh, a student at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, along with colleagues Kritti Sharma, Chen-Yen Hsu and Bryce T. Bolin analyzing images from the ZTF.[5][2]

At the time, 2020 QG passed closer to Earth than any known asteroid, except for those that became meteors. It passed closer than 2011 CQ1 and 2020 JJ.[c] Given an absolute magnitude of 29.8, it is estimated to be around 3–6 metres (10–20 ft) in diameter[3] so similar to Earth-impactors 2008 TC3, 2014 AA, 2018 LA, and 2019 MO.

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference MPC-object was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference MPEC-2020-Q51 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference NEO-Exchange was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference jpldata was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Clavin2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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