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Centaur

2020 XV1

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(2020 XV1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
8.222 AU
True anomaly
170.09°
Distance from Earth
9.17 AU
As of
11 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth 2020 XV1 — 8.222 AU from the Sun 2020 XV1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2020 XV1 is 9.17 AU from Earth today (1.3 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 17m 16s
Declination
-10° 08′ 12″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
9.17 AU
Elongation from the Sun
16.84° — 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.

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
5.929 AU
Eccentricity
0.4006
Inclination
6.99°
Orbital period
14.44 years
Perihelion
3.554 AU
Aphelion
8.304 AU
Longitude of ascending node
70.16°
Argument of periapsis
336.98°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 997.9 LD
2.5642 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.819

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
142
Data arc
16.23 years
First observed
12 October 2005
Last observed
5 January 2022
Residual RMS
0.49 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
21 October 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
14.88

Discovery & classification

Centaur

Close approaches 9 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2032-12-04 04:47:00 Juptr 0.6904 AU 268.7 LD 6.3 km/s
2048-01-09 18:16:00 Juptr 1.6247 AU 632.3 LD 5.8 km/s
2063-04-18 07:57:00 Juptr 0.5326 AU 207.3 LD 5.6 km/s
2132-01-12 04:38:00 Juptr 1.4598 AU 568.1 LD 4.9 km/s
2135-04-01 14:54:00 Juptr 1.766 AU 687.3 LD 3.5 km/s

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

Sources