Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building (0.41 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 26,972,144 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

152742 (1998 XE12) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1998 XE12 as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

1998 XE12 orbits the sun every 301 days (0.82 years), coming as close as 0.23 AU and reaching as far as 1.53 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. 1998 XE12 is about 0.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

1998 XE12's orbit is 0.11 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

1998 XE12 has 24 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 19, 2021 26,972,144 21.371
Jan. 28, 2024 17,412,504 24.948
Jan. 25, 2038 22,304,850 27.012
Nov. 24, 2044 29,862,828 27.783
Nov. 22, 2058 25,055,438 25.741
Jan. 29, 2061 24,308,904 20.783
Nov. 21, 2072 23,453,556 24.318
Jan. 30, 2075 20,192,379 21.867
Nov. 20, 2086 23,763,100 22.991
Jan. 29, 2089 17,389,109 23.166
Nov. 20, 2100 26,720,354 21.413
Jan. 29, 2103 17,564,334 24.913
Jan. 27, 2117 21,962,440 26.842
Jan. 26, 2131 27,403,795 28.472
Nov. 25, 2137 26,932,991 26.704
Feb. 1, 2140 27,806,816 20.100
Nov. 24, 2151 23,967,835 25.089
Jan. 31, 2154 22,259,617 21.313
Nov. 22, 2165 23,380,736 23.281
Jan. 31, 2168 17,994,076 22.893
Nov. 22, 2179 25,867,559 21.700
Jan. 29, 2182 17,387,400 24.539
Nov. 21, 2193 29,375,796 20.592
Jan. 29, 2196 19,684,606 25.923

Images and Observations

1998 XE12's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 30, 1995. It was last officially observed on Jan. 24, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 485 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

This asteroid is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 1998 XE12:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8782 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7391
  • Inclination: 13.43°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 280.03°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 353.14°
  • Mean Anomaly: 138.32°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.41300 km
  • Magnitude: 19.11
  • Albedo: 0.264

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 301 days (0.82 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.74 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.53 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.23 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 152742 (1998 XE12) is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.

Size Rendering

The below comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 1998 XE12 to create an approximate landscape rendering with New York City in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.