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Asteroid Near-Earth

2022 SW20

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(2022 SW20)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.053 AU
True anomaly
167.72°
Distance from Earth
0.278 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 2022 SW20 — 1.053 AU from the Sun 2022 SW20
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2022 SW20 is 0.278 AU from Earth today (2.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
19h 50m 53s
Declination
-13° 21′ 19″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
0.28 AU
Elongation from the Sun
93.96° — 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
0.692 AU
Eccentricity
0.5679
Inclination
15.19°
Orbital period
210.1 days
Perihelion
0.299 AU
Aphelion
1.084 AU
Longitude of ascending node
0.26°
Argument of periapsis
199.51°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 0.9 LD
0.0022 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
8.102

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
14
Data arc
3 days
First observed
27 September 2022
Last observed
30 September 2022
Residual RMS
0.38 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 October 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.48

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 142 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2022 SW20 at 2029-10-31 20:25 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-10-31 20:25 UTC close approach of 2022 SW20. Catalogue miss distance 82.3 LD · 3.16 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-10-28 to 2029-11-03, 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 a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 82.3 LD · 3.16 × 10⁷ km 2029-10-31 20:25 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-10-31 20:25 UTC close approach of 2022 SW20. Catalogue miss distance 82.3 LD · 3.16 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-10-28 to 2029-11-03, 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 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
2026-09-22 13:24:00 Earth 0.1282 AU 49.9 LD 18.3 km/s
2029-10-31 20:25:00 Earth 0.2115 AU 82.3 LD 16.8 km/s
2030-08-17 18:14:00 Mercury 0.0813 AU 31.6 LD 35.8 km/s
2030-08-17 18:14:00 Merc 0.0813 AU 31.6 LD 35.8 km/s
2030-09-26 07:54:00 Earth 0.2704 AU 105.2 LD 23.1 km/s
2031-09-19 03:47:00 Mercury 0.0477 AU 18.6 LD 26.3 km/s
2031-09-19 03:47:00 Merc 0.0477 AU 18.6 LD 26.3 km/s
2033-07-03 02:56:00 Merc 0.0957 AU 37.2 LD 23.8 km/s
2033-07-03 02:56:00 Mercury 0.0957 AU 37.2 LD 23.8 km/s
2033-10-25 18:35:00 Earth 0.1592 AU 62.0 LD 13.4 km/s

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

Sources