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2020 PN1
2020 PN1 is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object of the Aten group, that is a temporary horseshoe companion to the Earth. There are dozens of known Earth horseshoe librators, some of which switch periodically between the quasi-satellite and the horseshoe co-orbital states.
2020 PN1 was discovered on 12 August 2020 by L. Denneau, J. Tonry, A. Heinze, and H. Weiland observing for the ATLAS-HKO Survey. As of 20 January 2021, it has been observed 41 times with an observation arc of 361 days.
2020 PN1 is currently an Aten asteroid (Earth-crossing but with a period less than a year). Its semi-major axis (currently 0.998105754 AU) is similar to that of Earth (0.999789 AU), but it has a moderate eccentricity (0.1269557) and low orbital inclination (4.80807°). It alternates between being an Aten asteroid and being an Apollo asteroid, although its orbital evolution is not fully stable and it can be considered as a temporary co-orbital companion to the Earth.
With an absolute magnitude of 25.5 mag, it has a diameter in the range of 10–50 meters (for an assumed albedo range of 0.04–0.20, respectively).
2020 PN1 was pre-selected for an exploration by a Chinese mission of planetary defense including an impactor and a separate orbiter planned to launch in 2026. However, in April 2023, the new target is 2019 VL5.
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2020 PN1 AI simulator
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2020 PN1
2020 PN1 is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object of the Aten group, that is a temporary horseshoe companion to the Earth. There are dozens of known Earth horseshoe librators, some of which switch periodically between the quasi-satellite and the horseshoe co-orbital states.
2020 PN1 was discovered on 12 August 2020 by L. Denneau, J. Tonry, A. Heinze, and H. Weiland observing for the ATLAS-HKO Survey. As of 20 January 2021, it has been observed 41 times with an observation arc of 361 days.
2020 PN1 is currently an Aten asteroid (Earth-crossing but with a period less than a year). Its semi-major axis (currently 0.998105754 AU) is similar to that of Earth (0.999789 AU), but it has a moderate eccentricity (0.1269557) and low orbital inclination (4.80807°). It alternates between being an Aten asteroid and being an Apollo asteroid, although its orbital evolution is not fully stable and it can be considered as a temporary co-orbital companion to the Earth.
With an absolute magnitude of 25.5 mag, it has a diameter in the range of 10–50 meters (for an assumed albedo range of 0.04–0.20, respectively).
2020 PN1 was pre-selected for an exploration by a Chinese mission of planetary defense including an impactor and a separate orbiter planned to launch in 2026. However, in April 2023, the new target is 2019 VL5.