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Asteroid Near-Earth

2020 XP2

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(2020 XP2)

2020 XP2 is an asteroid in the Apollo orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.74 AU to 1.32 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 380.9 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 27 July 2025.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.295 AU
True anomaly
161.65°
Distance from Earth
0.827 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.

Sun Earth — 0.992 AU from the Sun Earth 2020 XP2 — 1.295 AU from the Sun 2020 XP2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2020 XP2 is 0.827 AU from Earth today (6.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
20h 31m 29s
Declination
+06° 46′ 15″
Constellation
Delphinus
Distance from Earth
0.83 AU
Elongation from the Sun
90.08° — well clear of the Sun

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
1.028 AU
Eccentricity
0.2848
Inclination
15.82°
Orbital period
380.9 days
Perihelion
0.736 AU
Aphelion
1.321 AU
Longitude of ascending node
282.99°
Argument of periapsis
280.03°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 2.8 LD
0.0073 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
5.88

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
117
Data arc
4.64 years
First observed
7 December 2020
Last observed
27 July 2025
Residual RMS
0.43 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
27 July 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.12

Discovery & classification

Apollo Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 52 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2020 XP2 at 2044-12-30 14:04 UTC Sun 56.9 LD · 2.19 × 10⁷ km 2044-12-30 14:04 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2044-12-30 14:04 UTC close approach of 2020 XP2. Catalogue miss distance 56.9 LD · 2.19 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2044-12-27 to 2045-01-02, 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
2043-03-16 07:28:00 Venus 0.1385 AU 53.9 LD 12.1 km/s
2044-12-30 14:04:00 Earth 0.1463 AU 56.9 LD 15.5 km/s
2046-01-07 07:00:00 Earth 0.1209 AU 47.1 LD 9.6 km/s
2049-07-07 06:08:00 Earth 0.1366 AU 53.2 LD 10.2 km/s
2050-07-28 08:10:00 Earth 0.1674 AU 65.2 LD 15.3 km/s
2070-01-06 03:19:00 Earth 0.0422 AU 16.4 LD 11.1 km/s
2073-06-28 22:01:00 Earth 0.1814 AU 70.6 LD 9.7 km/s
2074-07-25 01:12:00 Earth 0.1254 AU 48.8 LD 14 km/s
2091-03-10 04:16:00 Venus 0.1205 AU 46.9 LD 13.4 km/s
2092-12-30 05:07:00 Earth 0.161 AU 62.7 LD 15.9 km/s

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

Sources