2007 VD12

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2007 VD12

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 14,394,492 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2007 VD12 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2007 VD12 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2007 VD12 orbits the sun every 448 days (1.23 years), coming as close as 0.73 AU and reaching as far as 1.56 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2007 VD12 is probably between 0.280 to 0.625 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.

The rotation of 2007 VD12 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 7.42 hours.

Close Approaches

2007 VD12'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 VD12 has 20 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 30, 2025 14,394,492 17.790
Nov. 25, 2034 4,320,185 16.475
May 16, 2041 25,619,430 12.986
June 2, 2052 24,021,712 19.303
Dec. 1, 2061 21,284,866 13.438
May 31, 2068 16,699,727 18.159
Dec. 2, 2077 29,611,786 12.713
May 18, 2089 21,394,809 13.409
Nov. 29, 2098 10,451,753 14.639
June 4, 2105 27,620,466 19.889
May 18, 2110 25,618,257 13.019
Nov. 30, 2119 11,767,790 14.486
May 19, 2131 22,904,819 13.257
Nov. 30, 2140 14,083,232 14.215
May 19, 2152 21,330,787 13.414
Dec. 1, 2161 16,224,058 13.961
May 21, 2173 17,398,395 13.820
Dec. 2, 2182 22,809,267 13.288
Nov. 20, 2187 29,736,355 20.480
May 24, 2194 8,823,668 14.830

Images and Observations

2007 VD12's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 5, 2007. It was last officially observed on Dec. 25, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 256 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 VD12:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.146 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3648
  • Inclination: 22.86°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 62.68°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 91.3°
  • Mean Anomaly: 266.47°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.361 km
  • Magnitude: 19.89

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 448 days (1.23 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.83 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.56 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.73 AU
  • Rotation Period: 7.42 hours

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

⧉

Sky Map

The position of 2007 VD12 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 VD12 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.