2012 BS23

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2012 BS23

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 10,338,573 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2012 BS23 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2012 BS23 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2012 BS23 orbits the sun every 984 days (2.69 years), coming as close as 0.81 AU and reaching as far as 3.06 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2012 BS23 is probably between 0.133 to 0.298 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2012 BS23's orbit is 0.03 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.

2012 BS23 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 28, 2020 10,338,573 13.257
Feb. 15, 2039 22,872,295 18.810
July 11, 2055 18,686,072 17.539
Feb. 25, 2074 5,493,645 14.697
Feb. 25, 2109 6,365,574 14.928
July 17, 2125 26,750,358 19.296
Feb. 18, 2144 22,677,593 18.600
July 8, 2160 9,338,287 15.501
April 7, 2187 27,549,543 11.264
June 30, 2195 11,066,934 12.715

Images and Observations

2012 BS23's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 20, 2012. It was last officially observed on Aug. 17, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 83 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 2012 BS23:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.936 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5791
  • Inclination: 5.39°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 317.74°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 258.91°
  • Mean Anomaly: 84.58°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.172 km
  • Magnitude: 21.5

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 984 days (2.69 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.40 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.06 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.81 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2012 BS23 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 2012 BS23 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.