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(792156) 2020 XR is a binary Apollo near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid roughly in diameter. With a 5-day observation arc it was briefly listed as having a 1 in 11,000 chance of impacting Earth on 1 December 2028, which placed it at the top of the Sentry Risk Table with a Palermo scale rating of −0.70.
Discovery 2020 XR was discovered by Pan-STARRS 2 on 4 December 2020, when it was from Earth and had a solar elongation of 75°. It came to perihelion on 8 December 2020. On 2 January 2021, it passed from Earth.
On 13 December 2020, precovery observations from 2013, 2016, and mid-2020 extended the observation arc from 8 days to 7.8 years allowing the asteroid to be removed from the Sentry Risk Table. Permanent number was assigned on 31 March 2025.
Satellite A satellite was discovered on 2 December 2024 by Goldstone Observatory in California using radar observations.
2024 It was the Earth's perturbations of the asteroid in 2024 that determined if an impact was possible in December 2028. On 4 December 2024, the asteroid passed from Earth with an uncertainty region of about ±800 km. This increased the asteroid's orbital period by 10 days.
+Orbital period 3 months before and after 2024-Dec-04 Earth approach Parameter Epoch(date) OrbitalPeriod Units (days) Pre-flyby 2024-Sep-04 1441 Post-flyby 2025-Mar-04 1451
2028 On 7 November 2028, the asteroid will pass from Earth. By 1 December 2028 the asteroid will be from Earth with an uncertainty region of about ±10,000 km.
Notes
References
External links Asteroid Hazards, Part 3: Finding the Path – YouTube video by the Minor Planet Center (26 August 2015)
2020 XR at Virtual Telescope Project