Asteroid (2020 XM1)
Closest pass on 2026-Nov-16 21:49 TDB (Julian Date: 2461361.409136906)
Key Facts
- On 2026-Nov-16 21:49, asteroid (2020 XM1) passed Earth at a nominal distance of 10,700,000 km (27.8 lunar distances).
- At closest approach, the object was traveling at 18.1 km/s relative to Earth.
- The object has an estimated size of 176 m, which is about 2 Statues of Liberty.
- The miss distance was just under 28 times the distance to the Moon.
- Hazard classification: 140 to 1,000 meters. Causes widespread continental destruction, severe climatic cooling from injected dust, and potentially lethal ocean tsunamis if hitting water; Congress designated 140 meters as the threshold for mandatory congressional NEO tracking.
Visual Scale Comparison
| Target | 176 m |
|---|---|
| Smaller | Great Pyramid: 138 m |
| Larger | Eiffel Tower: 330 m |
Object size compared to known reference benchmarks.
Miss Distance Orbital Dial
Concentric orbital rings showing Earth, Moon orbit, and asteroid trajectory.
Astrometric & Orbital Parameters
| Designation | 2020 XM1 |
|---|---|
| Full Object Name | (2020 XM1) |
| Nominal Miss Distance | 10,700,000 km (27.8 lunar distances / 0.0714062037039049 au) |
| 3-Sigma Minimum Distance | 10,681,923.367 km (27.789 LD) |
| Relative Velocity (v_rel) | 18.1014847012646 km/s (about 2.5 ISS orbital speeds) |
| Velocity at Infinity (v_inf) | 18.0994231841454 km/s |
| Time Uncertainty (3-sigma) | < 00:01 |
| Absolute Magnitude (H) | 21.52 mag |
| Orbit Solution ID | 8 (NASA JPL Small-Body Database) |
| Inside Moon Orbit | No |
| Inside Geostationary Ring | No |
Cite this page
Permanent URL: https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Nov-16/2020-xm1/ | Machine-readable twin: index.json
APA:
What Nearly Hit Us Project. (2026). Asteroid (2020 XM1) Close Approach on 2026-Nov-16 21:49. What Nearly Hit Us. Retrieved from https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Nov-16/2020-xm1/MLA:
"Asteroid (2020 XM1) Close Approach on 2026-Nov-16 21:49." What Nearly Hit Us, What Nearly Hit Us Project, 2026-09-24, https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Nov-16/2020-xm1/.BibTeX:
@misc{approach_2020XM1_202616,
title = {Asteroid (2020 XM1) Close Approach on 2026-Nov-16 21:49},
author = {{What Nearly Hit Us Project}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Nov-16/2020-xm1/},
note = {Primary upstream source: NASA/JPL CNEOS CAD API}
}