2012 KA4

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2012 KA4

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 17,362,891 km of Earth in 2027
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2012 KA4 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2012 KA4 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2012 KA4 orbits the sun every 422 days (1.16 years), coming as close as 0.24 AU and reaching as far as 1.96 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2012 KA4 is probably between 0.156 to 0.348 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2012 KA4'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 KA4 has 21 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 15, 2027 17,362,891 29.213
Aug. 4, 2030 19,957,829 28.393
May 15, 2042 20,172,178 29.792
Aug. 5, 2045 18,163,564 27.823
May 16, 2057 22,768,716 30.337
Aug. 5, 2060 17,082,689 27.399
May 16, 2072 22,628,853 30.311
Aug. 6, 2075 17,303,060 27.516
May 16, 2087 19,196,056 29.575
Aug. 4, 2090 20,201,000 28.495
May 14, 2102 11,731,344 27.996
Aug. 3, 2105 25,880,957 30.064
May 12, 2117 5,301,932 26.438
May 11, 2132 4,672,206 25.451
Aug. 15, 2143 29,726,505 20.996
May 10, 2147 12,099,457 23.651
Aug. 13, 2158 20,528,094 23.050
May 7, 2162 24,018,091 21.432
Aug. 10, 2173 14,732,736 25.584
May 17, 2185 20,769,820 29.891
Aug. 6, 2188 19,969,231 28.492

Images and Observations

2012 KA4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 17, 2012. It was last officially observed on June 7, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 104 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 KA4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.1 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7799
  • Inclination: 5.8°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 214.89°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 237.5°
  • Mean Anomaly: 332.46°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.201 km
  • Magnitude: 21.16

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 422 days (1.16 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.36 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.96 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.24 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2012 KA4 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 KA4 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.