2020 CW
Discovery [1]
Discovered byMLS
Discovery siteMount Lemon Obs.
Discovery date1 February 2020
(first observed only)
Designations
2020 CW
NEO · Apollo [1][2]
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 1 February 2020 (JD 2458880.5)
Uncertainty parameter 8[2] · —[1]
Observation arc0 day
Aphelion1.9980 AU
Perihelion0.4769 AU
1.2375 AU
Eccentricity0.6146
1.38 yr (503 d)
322.21°
0° 42m 57.6s / day
Inclination2.1259°
132.01°
110.66°
Earth MOID0.030 LD (0.000076 AU)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
1.1 m (est at 0.14)[3][4]
32.5[1][2] 32.6[4]

    2020 CW is a tiny near-Earth asteroid of the Apollo group, approximately 1 meter (3 ft) in diameter. It was first observed by the Mount Lemmon Survey on 1 February 2020,[1] when it passed Earth very closely at a nominal distance of only 0.041 lunar distances (0.000105 astronomical units).[2] The object's orbital elements remain highly uncertain.[1][2]

    Description

    2020 CW passed within 15,660 kilometres (9,730 mi) of the Earth on 1 February 2020, with a fly-by speed of 21.2 kilometres (13.2 mi) per second.[2] The household-appliance-sized asteroid passed within the orbit of satellites in the geostationary ring at 35,900 kilometres (22,300 mi) above Earth's equator.[5] At the time, it was the closest approach in the year 2020. Since then, 2020 JJ made a closer approach on 4 May 2020.[6]

    The asteroid was first observed 1 February 2020 by the Mount Lemmon Survey at Mount Lemmon Observatory in the Santa Catalina Mountains northeast of Tucson, Arizona.[1] The next encounter closer than the Moon is predicted to occur 5 February 2029 at a distance of 19,040 kilometres (11,830 mi) or more.[2]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "2020 CW". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
    2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2020 CW)" (2020-02-01 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
    3. ↑ "Asteroid Size Estimator". CNEOS NASA/JPL. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
    4. 1 2 "ESA space situational awareness 2020CW". European Space Agency. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
    5. ↑ Mack, Eric (4 February 2020). "Adorable asteroid 2020 CW makes one of the closest passes by Earth ever seen". CNET. It was a harmless flyby for the record books.
    6. ↑ "NEO Earth Close Approaches". Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). Retrieved 29 July 2020. Table Settings: All available data, Nominal dist. <= 1LD, no H limit, sort by CA Distance Nominal
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