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Asteroid Near-Earth Potentially hazardous

2020 CL1

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(2020 CL1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.901 AU
True anomaly
144.63°
Distance from Earth
1.499 AU
As of
15 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 — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 2020 CL1 — 0.901 AU from the Sun 2020 CL1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2020 CL1 is 1.499 AU from Earth today (12.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 35m 28s
Declination
+13° 58′ 10″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
1.5 AU
Elongation from the Sun
35.88° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.724 AU
Eccentricity
0.392
Inclination
45.48°
Orbital period
225.2 days
Perihelion
0.441 AU
Aphelion
1.008 AU
Longitude of ascending node
325.89°
Argument of periapsis
9.72°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 4.5 LD
0.0115 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.663

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
141
Data arc
19.02 years
First observed
22 February 2007
Last observed
28 February 2026
Residual RMS
0.43 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 February 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
19.96

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object Potentially Hazardous Asteroid

Close approaches 117 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2020 CL1 at 2028-02-14 18:50 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-02-14 18:50 UTC close approach of 2020 CL1. Catalogue miss distance 39.4 LD · 1.51 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-02-11 to 2028-02-17, 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 39.4 LD · 1.51 × 10⁷ km 2028-02-14 18:50 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-02-14 18:50 UTC close approach of 2020 CL1. Catalogue miss distance 39.4 LD · 1.51 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-02-11 to 2028-02-17, 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
2028-02-14 18:50:00 Earth 0.1011 AU 39.4 LD 21.7 km/s
2035-03-21 16:55:00 Mercury 0.0741 AU 28.8 LD 37.6 km/s
2035-03-21 16:55:00 Merc 0.0741 AU 28.8 LD 37.6 km/s
2036-02-15 06:29:00 Earth 0.0237 AU 9.2 LD 21.7 km/s
2040-10-06 01:47:00 Merc 0.0384 AU 14.9 LD 37.8 km/s
2040-10-06 01:47:00 Mercury 0.0384 AU 14.9 LD 37.8 km/s
2044-02-15 19:23:00 Earth 0.0451 AU 17.5 LD 22 km/s
2050-08-19 07:48:00 Mercury 0.0863 AU 33.6 LD 37.8 km/s
2050-08-19 07:48:00 Merc 0.0863 AU 33.6 LD 37.8 km/s
2052-02-16 17:00:00 Earth 0.1218 AU 47.4 LD 22.7 km/s

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

Sources