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]

2020 OY4
Discovery [1][2]
Discovered byMLS
Discovery siteMount Lemmon Obs.
Discovery dateJuly 26, 2020
Designations
2020 OY4
NEO · Apollo[1][2]
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 6[2] · 7[1]
Observation arc2 days
Aphelion1.5623 AU
Perihelion0.6873 AU
1.1248 AU
Eccentricity0.3889
1.19 yr (436 d)
257.94°
0° 49m 34.32s / day
Inclination2.1148°
305.50°
98.703°
Earth MOID0.0000879 AU (0.034 LD)
Physical characteristics
2–5 m[3]
30.18[2]
30.35[1]

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

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  1. ^ a b c d "2020 OY4". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b c "CAFS for 2020 OY4". ESA's NEO Coordination Centre. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  4. ^ Malik, Tariq (July 28, 2020). "An asteroid the size of a car just zipped by Earth in close flyby". Space.com.
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