Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2020 MX

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2020 MX)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.819 AU
True anomaly
257.2°
Distance from Earth
0.499 AU
As of
19 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2020 MX — 0.819 AU from the Sun 2020 MX
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2020 MX is 0.499 AU from Earth today (4.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 23m 22s
Declination
-16° 06′ 48″
Constellation
Serpens
Distance from Earth
0.5 AU
Elongation from the Sun
54.88° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
0.833 AU
Eccentricity
0.2776
Inclination
4.45°
Orbital period
277.6 days
Perihelion
0.602 AU
Aphelion
1.064 AU
Longitude of ascending node
282.49°
Argument of periapsis
177.03°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 12.3 LD
0.0317 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.014

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
170
Data arc
2.99 years
First observed
16 June 2020
Last observed
14 June 2023
Residual RMS
0.36 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 June 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23.95

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 216 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2020 MX at 2026-11-22 17:31 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-11-22 17:31 UTC close approach of 2020 MX. Catalogue miss distance 138.7 LD · 5.33 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-11-19 to 2026-11-25, 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. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 138.7 LD · 5.33 × 10⁷ km 2026-11-22 17:31 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-11-22 17:31 UTC close approach of 2020 MX. Catalogue miss distance 138.7 LD · 5.33 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-11-19 to 2026-11-25, 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. 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
2026-11-22 17:31:00 Earth 0.3564 AU 138.7 LD 11.4 km/s
2026-12-31 03:48:00 Venus 0.1086 AU 42.3 LD 8.4 km/s
2029-12-07 18:28:00 Venus 0.0999 AU 38.9 LD 8.7 km/s
2029-12-22 23:04:00 Earth 0.3805 AU 148.1 LD 13.3 km/s
2033-01-21 06:02:00 Earth 0.3732 AU 145.3 LD 12.8 km/s
2033-07-25 16:37:00 Earth 0.4172 AU 162.4 LD 18.8 km/s
2036-02-23 04:03:00 Earth 0.332 AU 129.2 LD 9.7 km/s
2036-08-02 12:08:00 Earth 0.1871 AU 72.8 LD 11.5 km/s
2039-07-20 21:49:00 Earth 0.0361 AU 14.1 LD 5.4 km/s
2039-12-04 12:06:00 Venus 0.1063 AU 41.4 LD 8.2 km/s

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

Sources