2008 JM20 is an asteroid in the Apollo orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.42 AU to 1.63 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 377.4 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 0.691 AU
- True anomaly
- 93.78°
- Distance from Earth
- 1.597 AU
- As of
- 3 November 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 13h 59m 23s
- Declination
- -03° 35′ 12″
- Constellation
- Virgo
- Distance from Earth
- 1.61 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 15.15° — 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.
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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
- 1.022 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.5922
- Inclination
- 22.48°
- Orbital period
- 377.4 days
- Perihelion
- 0.417 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.627 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 64.91°
- Argument of periapsis
- 27.76°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · APO
- Apollo
- Earth MOID · 63.6 LD
- 0.1635 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 5.751
Orbit quality
Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).
- Observations used
- 108
- Data arc
- 372 days
- First observed
- 10 May 2008
- Last observed
- 17 May 2009
- Residual RMS
- 0.47 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 15 April 2021
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 21
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 101 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-08-26 21:32 UTC close approach of 2008 JM20. Catalogue miss distance 150.3 LD · 5.78 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-08-23 to 2027-08-29, 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.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027-08-26 21:32:00 | Earth | 0.3862 AU | 150.3 LD | 18.8 km/s |
| 2028-09-19 08:08:00 | Earth | 0.4249 AU | 165.4 LD | 16.3 km/s |
| 2029-10-17 01:21:00 | Earth | 0.4766 AU | 185.5 LD | 21.5 km/s |
| 2036-05-23 22:59:00 | Earth | 0.4999 AU | 194.5 LD | 15.7 km/s |
| 2037-05-14 19:13:00 | Earth | 0.3993 AU | 155.4 LD | 15.4 km/s |
| 2038-05-06 16:27:00 | Earth | 0.2743 AU | 106.7 LD | 15.9 km/s |
| 2039-05-04 16:23:00 | Earth | 0.1693 AU | 65.9 LD | 18.8 km/s |
| 2040-05-08 04:22:00 | Earth | 0.2162 AU | 84.1 LD | 23.7 km/s |
| 2041-05-15 10:06:00 | Earth | 0.368 AU | 143.2 LD | 29.3 km/s |
| 2044-08-25 00:30:00 | Mars | 0.0593 AU | 23.1 LD | 15.4 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB