Asteroids which came closer to Earth than the Moon in 2012 by time of discovery | ||
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List of asteroid close approaches to Earth in 2012 is a listing of asteroids noted for their close approach to planet Earth
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 |
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)
(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)