SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2012 AW12

2012 AW12

2012 AW12 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.69 AU it takes 2.20 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 60
Orbital Period · P
2.20 yr
v(q)
46.3 km/s
v(Q)
11.3 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.39 km
TJ
3.64
Eccentricity · e
0.6063

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.665 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.715 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 2.05 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.69 AU gives an orbital period of 2.20 yr, or about 802 days.

The high eccentricity (0.606) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

A steep inclination of 51.52° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 46.3 km/s at perihelion and falls to 11.3 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 = 19.82 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.39 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 60 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.596 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 0 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
1.69 AU
Eccentricity
0.6063
Perihelion
0.665 AU
Aphelion
2.714647 AU
Inclination
51.52°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
239.02°

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
2033-Aug-28 16:43 0.178730 AU
26737700 km
30.76 km/s
2044-Aug-24 01:46 0.139557 AU
20877375 km
31.76 km/s
2055-Aug-21 00:17 0.135426 AU
20259387 km
32.75 km/s
2066-Aug-17 03:49 0.160517 AU
24013051 km
33.78 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
19.82

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.59603
Condition
0
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.