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Asteroid Near-Earth

2020 VP4

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(2020 VP4)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.941 AU
True anomaly
100.73°
Distance from Earth
1.536 AU
As of
21 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2020 VP4 — 0.941 AU from the Sun 2020 VP4
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2020 VP4 is 1.536 AU from Earth today (12.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 16m 20s
Declination
-19° 36′ 53″
Constellation
Scorpius
Distance from Earth
1.54 AU
Elongation from the Sun
36.41° — 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
0.934 AU
Eccentricity
0.1277
Inclination
3.5°
Orbital period
329.8 days
Perihelion
0.815 AU
Aphelion
1.054 AU
Longitude of ascending node
233.68°
Argument of periapsis
309.07°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.0 LD
0.0052 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.409

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
106
Data arc
9 days
First observed
13 November 2020
Last observed
22 November 2020
Residual RMS
0.51 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27.6

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 46 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2020 VP4 at 2029-08-10 15:12 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-08-10 15:12 UTC close approach of 2020 VP4. Catalogue miss distance 24.0 LD · 9.24 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-08-07 to 2029-08-13, 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 north of the ecliptic. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. approximate Sun 8 Aug 24.0 LD · 9.24 × 10⁶ km 2029-08-10 15:12 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-08-10 15:12 UTC close approach of 2020 VP4. Catalogue miss distance 24.0 LD · 9.24 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-08-07 to 2029-08-13, 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 north of the ecliptic. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2029-08-10 15:12:00 Earth 0.0618 AU 24.0 LD 3.1 km/s
2030-02-10 07:26:00 Earth 0.162 AU 63.0 LD 4 km/s
2030-11-12 07:49:00 Earth 0.4016 AU 156.3 LD 15.7 km/s
2033-12-03 22:40:00 Venus 0.1409 AU 54.8 LD 4.3 km/s
2038-08-13 05:09:00 Earth 0.2359 AU 91.8 LD 10.2 km/s
2039-04-12 02:12:00 Earth 0.1837 AU 71.5 LD 5.4 km/s
2039-11-22 04:55:00 Earth 0.1609 AU 62.6 LD 8.4 km/s
2047-05-26 03:39:00 Venus 0.1196 AU 46.5 LD 3.3 km/s
2047-08-22 07:01:00 Earth 0.4497 AU 175.0 LD 16.8 km/s
2048-06-10 07:46:00 Earth 0.1332 AU 51.9 LD 3.5 km/s

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

Sources