List of asteroid close approaches to Earth in 2012

Asteroids which came closer to Earth than the Moon in 2012 by time of discovery

After closest approach: 6 (26.1%)   < 24 hours before: 1 (4.3%)   up to 7 days before: 13 (56.5%)   > one week before: 2 (8.7%)   > 7 weeks before: 0 (0.0%)   > one year before: 1 (4.3%) Other years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

List of asteroid close approaches to Earth in 2012 is a listing of asteroids noted for their close approach to planet Earth

Timeline of close approaches less than one lunar distance from Earth in 2012

A list of known near-Earth asteroid close approaches less than 1 lunar distance (384,400 km or 0.00257 AU) from Earth in 2012, based on the close approach database of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). ^[1]

The CNEOS database of close approaches lists some close approaches a full orbit or more before the discovery of the object, derived by orbit calculation. The list below only includes close approaches that are evidenced by observations, thus the pre-discovery close approaches would only be included if the object was found by precovery, but there was no such close approach in 2012.

This list and the relevant databases do not consider impacts as close approaches, thus this list does not include any of the objects that collided with Earth's atmosphere in 2012, none of which were discovered in advance, but were observed visually or recorded by sensors designed to detect detonation of nuclear devices.

     Rows highlighted red indicate objects which were not discovered until after closest approach

     Rows highlighted yellow indicate objects discovered less than 24 hours before closest approach

     Rows highlighted green indicate objects discovered more than one week before closest approach

     Rows highlighted turquoise indicate objects discovered more than 7 weeks before closest approach

     Rows highlighted blue indicate objects discovered more than one year before closest approach
(i.e. objects successfully cataloged on a previous orbit, rather than being detected during final approach)

Date of closest approach	Date discovered	Object	Nominal geocentric distance (AU) [note 1]	Size (m) (approximate)	(H) (abs. mag.)	Closer approach to Moon	Refs [2] [3]
2012-01-02	2011-12-31	2011 YB63	0.00156  AU (233,000  km ; 145,000  mi )	2.9–6.5	29.8 [4]		data  · 2011 YB63
2012-01-20	2012-01-18	2012 BV1	0.00213 AU (319,000 km; 198,000 mi)	1.7–3.8	31.0 [5]	Yes	data  · 2012 BV1
2012-01-27	2012-01-25	2012 BX34	0.000437 AU (65,400 km; 40,600 mi)	8–18	27.6 [6]		data  · 2012 BX34
2012-02-20	2012-02-22	2012 DY13	0.00073 AU (109,000 km; 68,000 mi)	7.3–16	27.8 [7]		data  · 2012 DY13
2012-03-01	2012-03-02	2012 EZ1	0.00155 AU (232,000 km; 144,000 mi)	4.6–10	28.8 [8]		data  · 2012 EZ1
2012-03-26	2012-03-24	2012 FP35	0.00107 AU (160,000 km; 99,000 mi)	7–16	27.9 [9]		data  · 2012 FP35
2012-03-26	2012-03-25	2012 FS35	0.000431 AU (64,500 km; 40,100 mi)	5	30.2 [10]		data  · 2012 FS35
2012-04-01	2012-03-13	2012 EG5	0.00154 AU (230,000 km; 143,000 mi)	37–82	24.3 [11]		data  · 2012 EG5
2012-04-19	2012-04-21	2012 HM13	0.00188 AU (281,000 km; 175,000 mi)	6.1–14	28.2 [12]		data  · 2012 HM13
2012-05-13	2012-05-12	2012 JU	0.00136 AU (203,000 km; 126,000 mi)	5.8–13	28.3 [13]		data  · 2012 JU
2012-05-17	2012-05-16	2012 KA	0.00150 AU (224,000 km; 139,000 mi)	5.2–12	28.6 [14]		data  · 2012 KA
2012-05-19	2010-05-23	2010 KK37	0.00148 AU (221,000 km; 138,000 mi)	19–43	25.7		data  · 2010 KK37
2012-05-28	2012-05-23	2012 KP24	0.00038 AU (57,000 km; 35,000 mi)	14–30	26.4 [15]		data  · 2012 KP24
2012-05-29	2012-05-28	2012 KT42	0.000139 AU (20,800 km; 12,900 mi)	4.2–9.4	29.0 [16]		data  · 2012 KT42
2012-06-21	2012-06-23	2012 MF7	0.00212 AU (317,000 km; 197,000 mi)	1125	26.9 [17]	Yes	data  · 2012 MF7
2012-10-07	2012-10-05	2012 TV	0.00170 AU (254,000 km; 158,000 mi)	24–53	25.2 [18]		data  · 2012 TV
2012-10-09	2012-10-10	2012 TM79	0.000615 AU (92,000 km; 57,200 mi)	13–28	26.6 [19]		data  · 2012 TM79
2012-10-12	2012-10-04	2012 TC4	0.000635 AU (95,000 km; 59,000 mi)	12–27	26.7 [19]		data  · 2012 TC4
2012-11-12	2012-11-14	2012 VH77	0.00133 AU (199,000 km; 124,000 mi)	9.2–21	27.3 [20]		data  · 2012 VH77
2012-11-14	2012-11-12	2012 VJ38	0.00151 AU (226,000 km; 140,000 mi)	5.3–12	28.5 [21]		data  · 2012 VJ38
2012-12-11	2012-12-09	2012 XE54	0.00150 AU (224,000 km; 139,000 mi)	22–49	25.4 [22]		data  · 2012 XE54
2012-12-14	2012-12-11	2012 XB112	0.00212 AU (317,000 km; 197,000 mi)	2–3	29.9 [23]		data  · 2012 XB112
2012-12-15	2012-12-13	2012 XL134	0.00184 AU (275,000 km; 171,000 mi)	7.3–16	27.8 [24]		data  · 2012 XL134

Warning times by size

This sub-section visualises the warning times of the close approaches listed in the above table, depending on the size of the asteroid. The sizes of the charts show the relative sizes of the asteroids to scale. For comparison, the approximate size of a person is also shown. This is based the absolute magnitude of each asteroid, an approximate measure of size based on brightness.

Absolute magnitude H ≥ 30 (smallest)

Silhouette of man standing and facing forward

(size of a person for comparison)

Absolute magnitude 30 > H ≥ 29

Absolute magnitude 29 > H ≥ 28

Absolute magnitude 28 > H ≥ 27

Absolute magnitude 27 > H ≥ 26

Absolute magnitude 26 > H ≥ 25

Absolute magnitude 25 > H (largest)

•   After closest approach: 0 (0.0%)
•   < 24 hours before: 0 (0.0%)
•   up to 7 days before: 0 (0.0%)
•   > one week before: 1 (100.0%)
•   > 7 weeks before: 0 (0.0%)
•   > one year before: 0 (0.0%)

Notes

1. Distance from the center of Earth to the center of the object. See the NASA/JPL Solar System Dynamics Glossary: Geocentric. Earth has a radius of approximately 6,400 km.

See also

• List of asteroid close approaches to Earth
• List of asteroid close approaches to Earth in 2011
• List of asteroid close approaches to Earth in 2013

References

1. "NEO Earth Close Approaches". NASA/JPL CNEOS. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
2. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser". JPL Solar System Dynamics. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
3. "MPC Database". IAU Minor Planet Center. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
4. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2011 YB63)" (2012-01-01 last obs).
5. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 BV1)" (2012-01-19 last obs).
6. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 BX34)" (2012-01-27 last obs).
7. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 DY13)" (2012-02-27 last obs).
8. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 EZ1)" (2012-03-03 last obs).
9. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 FP35)" (2012-03-26 last obs).
10. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 FS35)" (2012-03-26 last obs).
11. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 EG5)" (2012-04-03 last obs). Archived from the original on 2013-04-03.
12. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 HM13)" (2012-04-23 last obs). Archived from the original on 2017-04-07.
13. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 JU)" (2012-05-13 last obs). Archived from the original on 2017-04-07.
14. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 KA)" (2012-05-17 last obs).
15. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 KP24)" (2012-05-28 last obs).
16. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 KT42)" (2012-05-29 last obs).
17. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 MF7)" (2012-07-22 last obs).
18. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 TV)" (2012-10-07 last obs).
19. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 TM79)" (2012-10-11 last obs).
20. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 VH77)" (2012-11-23 last obs).
21. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 VJ38)" (2012-11-16 last obs).
22. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 XE54)" (2012-12-11 last obs).
23. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 XB112)" (2012-12-14 last obs).
24. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2012 XL134)" (2012-12-14 last obs).