2007 UN12 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2007 UN12 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.
2007 UN12 orbits the sun every 393 days (1.08 years), coming as close as 0.99 AU and reaching as far as 1.11 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2007 UN12 is probably between 0.003 to 0.014 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.
2007 UN12's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is very close to Earth's orbit.
2007 UN12 has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
| Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
|---|---|---|
| July 4, 2020 | 6,664,068 | 2.935 |
| Jan. 8, 2021 | 14,355,291 | 2.025 |
| June 24, 2034 | 28,702,860 | 7.223 |
| March 2, 2035 | 17,643,654 | 2.595 |
| Nov. 5, 2035 | 28,340,116 | 7.279 |
| April 24, 2049 | 14,237,990 | 1.907 |
| Oct. 26, 2049 | 6,342,575 | 2.894 |
| Sept. 13, 2062 | 2,434,500 | 1.370 |
NASA Sentry has assessed impact risk for 27 very close approach scenarios. Here are the top scenarios ordered by probability of impact:
| Date | Probability of Impact (%) | Impact Energy (Mt) |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 23, 2103 | 0.01286 | 0.004176 |
| Sept. 18, 2089 | 0.00745 | 0.004174 |
| Sept. 30, 2106 | 0.00478 | 0.004175 |
| Sept. 12, 2117 | 0.00352 | 0.004177 |
| Sept. 10, 2116 | 0.00235 | 0.004171 |
| Sept. 11, 2116 | 0.00138 | 0.004176 |
| Sept. 29, 2121 | 0.00132 | 0.004173 |
| Sept. 20, 2115 | 0.00114 | 0.00417 |
| Sept. 12, 2117 | 0.00101 | 0.004172 |
| Sept. 14, 2119 | 0.00095 | 0.004176 |
| Sept. 17, 2101 | 0.00048 | 0.00417 |
| Oct. 3, 2122 | 0.00047 | 0.004173 |
| Sept. 19, 2114 | 0.00025 | 0.00417 |
| Sept. 11, 2103 | 0.00022 | 0.004178 |
| Sept. 13, 2117 | 0.00021 | 0.004174 |
| Sept. 19, 2120 | 0.00021 | 0.004174 |
| Sept. 16, 2118 | 0.00017 | 0.004172 |
| Sept. 15, 2118 | 0.00016 | 0.004176 |
| Sept. 16, 2112 | 0.00015 | 0.004173 |
| Sept. 15, 2100 | 0.00015 | 0.004177 |
| Sept. 11, 2104 | 0.00011 | 0.004175 |
| Sept. 10, 2090 | 0.00006 | 0.004174 |
| Sept. 2, 2119 | 0.00006 | 0.004174 |
| Sept. 9, 2102 | 0.00005 | 0.004175 |
| Sept. 11, 2105 | 0.00004 | 0.004175 |
| Sept. 11, 2107 | 0.00003 | 0.004172 |
| Sept. 10, 2121 | 0.00001 | 0.004171 |
2007 UN12's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 21, 2007. It was last officially observed on Jan. 13, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 132 observations used to determine its orbit.
2007 UN12 can be reached with a journey of 330 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 4.516 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 1,217,512 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.
See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2007 UN12.
The position of 2007 UN12 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.