478574 (2012 TS78)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 478574 (2012 TS78)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 27,486,942 km of Earth in 2032
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

478574 (2012 TS78) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2012 TS78 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2012 TS78 orbits the sun every 745 days (2.04 years), coming as close as 0.99 AU and reaching as far as 2.22 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2012 TS78 is probably between 0.504 to 1.127 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Close Approaches

2012 TS78's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2012 TS78 has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 19, 2032 27,486,942 20.663
April 1, 2034 8,884,851 18.806
March 25, 2083 12,344,657 19.615
April 7, 2085 24,387,429 18.773
March 26, 2134 12,764,180 19.643
April 7, 2136 23,815,121 18.752
March 21, 2185 26,916,368 20.691
April 3, 2187 9,695,478 18.767

Images and Observations

2012 TS78's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 8, 2012. It was last officially observed on Oct. 1, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 180 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 TS78:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.608 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3817
  • Inclination: 32.67°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 8.28°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 196.79°
  • Mean Anomaly: 290.35°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.651 km
  • Magnitude: 18.61

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 745 days (2.04 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.48 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.22 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.99 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 478574 (2012 TS78) 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 above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2012 TS78 to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.