2020 OY4 is a very small asteroid classified as a near-Earth object that passed within 21,850 miles (35,160 km) of the surface of Earth on July 28, 2020, with a fly-by speed of 12.4 kilometres (7.7 mi) per second.[3] The car-sized asteroid posed no risk of impact to Earth, but it did pass within the orbit of satellites in the geostationary ring at 35,785 kilometres (22,236 mi) above Earth's equator.[4]
The asteroid was discovered July 26, 2020 using the Mount Lemmon Survey telescope in the Santa Catalina Mountains northeast of Tucson, Arizona.[3] The next encounter closer than the Moon is predicted to occur July 30, 2055 at a distance of 200,000 kilometres (124,000 mi) or more.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d "2020 OY4". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2020 OY4)" (2020-07-28 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- ^ a b c "CAFS for 2020 OY4". ESA's NEO Coordination Centre. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- ^ Malik, Tariq (July 28, 2020). "An asteroid the size of a car just zipped by Earth in close flyby". Space.com.
External links
- 2020 OY4 at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
- 2020 OY4 at ESA–space situational awareness
- 2020 OY4 at the JPL Small-Body Database
