2012 KU12

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2012 KU12

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 14,976,231 km of Earth in 2032
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2012 KU12 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2012 KU12 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2012 KU12 orbits the sun every 766 days (2.10 years), coming as close as 0.84 AU and reaching as far as 2.44 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2012 KU12 is probably between 0.127 to 0.284 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2012 KU12's orbit is 0.04 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 KU12 has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 10, 2032 14,976,231 9.849
April 11, 2035 27,317,076 16.401
Dec. 2, 2053 7,870,501 11.391
April 8, 2056 20,848,814 14.782
Dec. 7, 2074 12,182,475 10.384
April 11, 2077 27,044,219 16.364
Jan. 8, 2096 26,658,566 9.282
Feb. 22, 2117 28,294,115 9.016
Nov. 21, 2135 23,622,501 16.624
March 26, 2138 19,042,080 9.762
Nov. 24, 2156 15,370,415 14.919
April 1, 2159 15,612,407 11.138
Nov. 23, 2177 19,730,844 15.806
March 28, 2180 17,664,440 10.162

Images and Observations

2012 KU12's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 25, 2011. It was last officially observed on June 11, 2012. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 65 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 KU12:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.638 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4886
  • Inclination: 8.63°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 53.07°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 74.38°
  • Mean Anomaly: 195.67°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.164 km
  • Magnitude: 21.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 766 days (2.10 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.26 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.44 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.84 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2012 KU12 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 KU12 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.