199801 (2007 AE12)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 199801 (2007 AE12)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 9,331,393 km of Earth in 2030
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

199801 (2007 AE12) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2007 AE12 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2007 AE12 orbits the sun every 799 days (2.19 years), coming as close as 0.73 AU and reaching as far as 2.64 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2007 AE12 is probably between 0.357 to 0.798 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

2007 AE12's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2007 AE12 has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 10, 2030 9,331,393 14.115
Oct. 22, 2043 24,696,237 11.617
June 12, 2065 11,104,316 13.782
Oct. 27, 2078 20,916,893 12.012
June 13, 2100 11,031,163 13.792
Oct. 26, 2113 22,264,564 11.849
June 11, 2135 7,039,945 14.586
Nov. 22, 2137 27,567,233 21.454
Oct. 24, 2148 23,645,658 11.713
June 14, 2170 11,830,018 13.675
Oct. 23, 2183 25,261,787 11.585

Images and Observations

2007 AE12's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 29, 1995. It was last officially observed on April 14, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 209 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 2007 AE12:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.685 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5693
  • Inclination: 2.29°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 245.44°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 86.99°
  • Mean Anomaly: 308.06°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.461 km
  • Magnitude: 19.36

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 799 days (2.19 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.94 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.64 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.73 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 199801 (2007 AE12) 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 2007 AE12 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.