2012 HM

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2012 HM

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 11,910,282 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2012 HM is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2012 HM 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 HM orbits the sun every 465 days (1.27 years), coming as close as 0.94 AU and reaching as far as 1.41 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2012 HM is probably between 0.026 to 0.118 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2012 HM's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2012 HM has 15 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 18, 2026 11,910,282 5.123
Aug. 11, 2040 19,374,522 4.122
Sept. 1, 2054 24,259,396 8.789
April 23, 2063 7,858,888 7.692
April 25, 2077 3,964,487 7.033
Sept. 4, 2082 27,161,475 9.615
June 9, 2096 17,323,382 5.091
Sept. 17, 2096 27,876,490 4.129
April 20, 2110 16,199,667 9.153
Sept. 2, 2115 19,200,501 7.131
May 11, 2129 8,850,436 5.299
April 20, 2143 16,978,092 9.296
Sept. 2, 2148 20,769,993 7.780
Sept. 11, 2162 25,568,259 3.742
April 28, 2176 1,796,835 6.730

Images and Observations

2012 HM's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 16, 2012. It was last officially observed on April 27, 2012. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 527 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2012 HM can be reached with a journey of 378 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 8.927 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 15,335 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

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

Similar Objects

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

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.175 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1976
  • Inclination: 7.15°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 39.0°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 230.2°
  • Mean Anomaly: 299.23°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.072 km
  • Magnitude: 24.1

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 465 days (1.27 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.49 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.41 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.94 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2012 HM 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 HM 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.