Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 26,184,294 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2012 BX34 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2012 BX34 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.

2012 BX34 orbits the sun every 242 days (0.66 years), coming as close as 0.49 AU and reaching as far as 1.03 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2012 BX34 is probably between 0.008 to 0.018 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

The rotation of 2012 BX34 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 1.81 hours.

Close Approaches

2012 BX34'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.

2012 BX34 has 25 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 29, 2020 26,184,294 14.569
Dec. 12, 2062 26,180,263 11.382
Dec. 15, 2064 21,636,993 9.809
Dec. 22, 2066 18,560,365 8.794
Dec. 30, 2068 16,024,327 8.344
Jan. 9, 2071 13,055,628 8.209
Jan. 17, 2073 9,314,413 8.302
Jan. 23, 2075 4,973,205 8.667
Jan. 26, 2077 954,460 9.241
Jan. 24, 2079 3,490,050 8.856
Jan. 20, 2081 7,410,615 8.418
Jan. 14, 2083 11,285,967 8.214
Jan. 5, 2085 14,548,732 8.191
Dec. 28, 2086 17,136,828 8.359
Dec. 19, 2088 19,533,767 8.856
Dec. 14, 2090 22,502,548 9.851
Dec. 10, 2092 26,797,016 11.364
Jan. 30, 2138 26,071,196 14.476
Jan. 31, 2140 17,922,196 12.734
Jan. 31, 2142 10,498,086 11.221
Jan. 30, 2144 4,299,699 10.063
Jan. 28, 2146 703,345 9.464
Jan. 31, 2148 6,558,077 10.463
Jan. 31, 2150 14,421,996 12.043
Jan. 31, 2152 23,309,235 13.932

Images and Observations

2012 BX34's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 25, 2012. It was last officially observed on Jan. 27, 2012. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 129 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 BX34:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.7605 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3581
  • Inclination: 10.52°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 306.69°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 335.94°
  • Mean Anomaly: 52.02°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.010 km
  • Magnitude: 27.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 242 days (0.66 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 34.19 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.03 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.49 AU
  • Rotation Period: 1.81 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2012 BX34 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.