SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2012 YF8

2012 YF8

2012 YF8 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.866 AU it takes 2.55 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 45
Orbital Period · P
2.55 yr
v(q)
45.8 km/s
v(Q)
10.4 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.13 km
TJ
3.72
Eccentricity · e
0.6308

Orbit and dynamics

Between its closest point (0.689 AU) and its farthest (3.043 AU), the heliocentric distance changes by 2.354 AU over every revolution.

One full revolution takes 2.55 yr (931 days), computed from the semi-major axis of 1.866 AU.

The high eccentricity (0.631) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

Its inclination of 3.82° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 45.8 km/s at perihelion and falls to 10.4 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 = 22.25 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.13 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

Astrometry from 45 individual observations underpins this orbit; the fit leaves an RMS residual of 0.616 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
1.866 AU
Eccentricity
0.6308
Perihelion
0.689 AU
Aphelion
3.043073 AU
Inclination
3.82°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
73.93°

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
2035-Dec-29 05:26 0.464256 AU
69451702 km
31.60 km/s
2041-Feb-01 00:45 0.135792 AU
20314174 km
14.04 km/s
2046-Apr-30 15:19 0.303049 AU
45335436 km
15.59 km/s
2051-Jul-12 12:01 0.190230 AU
28457998 km
22.95 km/s
2064-Jan-08 00:44 0.272720 AU
40798260 km
25.64 km/s
2069-Mar-11 09:05 0.278617 AU
41680521 km
14.53 km/s
2074-Jun-14 09:31 0.170160 AU
25455628 km
13.29 km/s
2079-Jul-24 14:28 0.407369 AU
60941568 km
29.47 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
22.25

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.61604
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.

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