SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2012 DQ8

2012 DQ8

2012 DQ8 is an Aten-type near-Earth asteroid whose orbit lies mostly inside that of Earth, with a semi-major axis of 0.96 AU and a period of 0.94 yr.

Aten Observations: 150
Orbital Period · P
0.94 yr
v(q)
35.3 km/s
v(Q)
26.2 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.2 km
TJ
6.16
Eccentricity · e
0.148

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.818 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.102 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.284 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 0.96 AU gives an orbital period of 0.94 yr, or about 344 days.

An eccentricity of 0.148 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

A steep inclination of 29.78° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 35.3 km/s at perihelion and falls to 26.2 km/s at aphelion.

Because q < 1 AU and Q > 1 AU, this orbit geometrically intersects the region of Earth's orbit.

Size and surface

No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 21.28 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.2 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 150 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3466 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 1 means the orbit is very well determined, leaving only a small uncertainty in the future ephemeris.

About these computed values

Orbital periods, perihelion and aphelion speeds, and diameter estimates on this page are computed by SpaceAtlas from the JPL SBDB orbital elements. They are derived quantities, not values copied from the source catalogue.

Orbital Parameters

Semi-Major Axis
0.9599 AU
Eccentricity
0.148
Perihelion
0.818 AU
Aphelion
1.101965 AU
Inclination
29.78°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
242.55°

Orbit diagram

The Sun sits at the focus (orange). Earth's orbit is the grey circle at 1 AU. The red dot marks the object's position at the catalog epoch.

3D orbit (interactive)

Drag to rotate; scroll or pinch to zoom. The Sun is at the focus (orange), Earth's orbit is the grey ring at 1 AU, and the red dot marks the object's current position.

Close approaches

Predicted close approaches to Earth, from NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

Date (UTC)Miss distanceVelocity
2027-Sep-08 18:53 0.191092 AU
28587031 km
17.58 km/s
2028-Mar-05 08:50 0.137057 AU
20503372 km
15.14 km/s
2043-Sep-03 02:22 0.193533 AU
28952096 km
17.56 km/s
2044-Mar-06 13:37 0.173897 AU
26014569 km
15.46 km/s
2059-Mar-01 16:39 0.160587 AU
24023501 km
15.17 km/s
2075-Mar-02 20:55 0.129776 AU
19414165 km
14.99 km/s

Distances in astronomical units (AU) and kilometres. Source: NASA/JPL CNEOS Close Approach Data API.

Physical Parameters

Diameter
— km
Albedo
—
Density
— g/cm³
Rotation Period
— h
Absolute Magnitude
21.28

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.34661
Condition
1
Orbit ID
—
Data source: NASA JPL Small-Body Database · NASA CNEOS. Orbital periods, perihelion and aphelion speeds, and diameter estimates on this page are computed by SpaceAtlas from the JPL SBDB orbital elements. They are derived quantities, not values copied from the source catalogue.

Keep exploring

Explore asteroids, comets and near-Earth objects with JPL orbital data.