The asteroid's discovery was announced by the Minor Planet Center on 25 February 2020, after subsequent observations confirmed that it was orbiting Earth.

Assuming that 2020 CD3 has a low albedo characteristic of dark, carbonaceous C-type asteroids, its diameter is probably around 1.9–3.5 metres (6–11 ft).

[1][18] 2020 CD3 was found as a faint, 20th magnitude object in the constellation of Virgo, located about 0.0019 AU (280,000 km; 180,000 mi) from Earth at the time.

[5] Because 2020 CD3 has an Earth-like heliocentric orbit, its motion relative to Earth is low, allowing for it to slowly approach the planet and be captured.

[5][8] The geocentric orbit of 2020 CD3 is chaotic due to the combined effects of tidal forces from the Sun and Earth as well as repeated close encounters with the Moon.

[6][c] The final close approach in 2020 occurred on 13 February 2020 at a distance of about 41,000 km (25,000 mi) from Earth's surface.

[25] 2020 CD3 escaped Earth's Hill sphere at roughly 0.01 AU (1.5 million km) in March 2020[25][28] and returned to solar orbit on 7 May 2020.

[9] JPL's solution accounts for non-gravitational forces[6] as the multi-decade motion of a very small object is greatly affected by solar heating.

[9] JPL Horizon's nominal orbit has the asteroid passing 0.00251 AU (375 thousand km) from Earth on 8 October 2082 (29 days after the virtual impactor).

[21] Assuming that the albedo of 2020 CD3 is similar to those of dark, carbonaceous C-type asteroids, the diameter of 2020 CD3 is around 1.9–3.5 m (6–11 ft), comparable to in size to that of a small car.

[17][29] The JPL Sentry risk table estimates 2020 CD3 to have a mass of 4,900 kg (10,800 lb), based on the assumption that the asteroid has a diameter of 2 m (6.6 ft).