2012 HG2

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
• Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
• Will pass within 15,702,697 km of Earth in 2025
• Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

2012 HG2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2012 HG2 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 HG2 orbits the sun every 474 days (1.30 years), coming as close as 0.97 AU and reaching as far as 1.41 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2012 HG2 is probably between 0.007 to 0.031 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 HG2 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 0.02 hours.

Close Approaches

2012 HG2'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 HG2 has 3 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

NASA Sentry has assessed impact risk for 689 very close approach scenarios. Here are the top scenarios ordered by probability of impact:

Images and Observations

2012 HG2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 20, 2012. It was last officially observed on May 29, 2012. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 210 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2012 HG2 can be reached with a journey of 330 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 7.562 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 157,553 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2012 HG2.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2012 HG2:

• 12711 Tukmit (1991 BB)
• 17511 (1992 QN)
• 66407 (1999 LQ28)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2012 HG2 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.