2007 US12

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2007 US12

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 28,651,603 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2007 US12 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2007 US12 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 US12 orbits the sun every 315 days (0.86 years), coming as close as 0.44 AU and reaching as far as 1.37 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2007 US12 is probably between 0.100 to 0.223 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2007 US12's orbit is 0.01 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.

2007 US12 has 23 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 23, 2026 28,651,603 11.949
Oct. 19, 2032 3,297,095 16.852
Jan. 29, 2041 28,943,269 12.463
Oct. 19, 2051 6,298,122 15.194
Oct. 25, 2057 27,300,095 21.896
Jan. 30, 2060 22,700,944 15.281
Oct. 21, 2070 23,189,538 12.457
Oct. 21, 2076 11,608,240 18.623
Jan. 27, 2079 25,027,299 18.340
Oct. 20, 2095 2,971,324 16.801
Jan. 25, 2098 29,121,333 19.905
Oct. 22, 2114 7,695,141 17.821
Jan. 27, 2117 25,726,860 18.642
Oct. 22, 2127 21,447,056 12.670
Oct. 25, 2133 22,400,550 20.873
Jan. 31, 2136 22,544,300 15.500
Oct. 20, 2146 9,274,197 14.622
Feb. 1, 2155 25,705,721 13.506
Oct. 21, 2165 1,641,163 16.387
Oct. 24, 2178 27,844,659 11.997
Oct. 23, 2184 14,816,386 19.295
Jan. 30, 2187 23,060,422 17.023
Oct. 20, 2197 12,010,836 14.149

Images and Observations

2007 US12's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 30, 2007. It was last officially observed on Dec. 3, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 98 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 US12:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9061 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5147
  • Inclination: 8.8°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 211.08°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 44.66°
  • Mean Anomaly: 232.43°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.129 km
  • Magnitude: 22.13

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 315 days (0.86 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.29 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.37 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.44 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2007 US12 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 US12 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.