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Asteroid Near-Earth

260277

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260277 (2004 TR12)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.025 AU
True anomaly
141.89°
Distance from Earth
0.325 AU
As of
20 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Sun Earth — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 260277 — 1.025 AU from the Sun 260277
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 260277 is 0.325 AU from Earth today (2.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
20h 32m 41s
Declination
-62° 27′ 37″
Constellation
Pavo
Distance from Earth
0.33 AU
Elongation from the Sun
86.02° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
0.895 AU
Eccentricity
0.2096
Inclination
19.36°
Orbital period
309.3 days
Perihelion
0.707 AU
Aphelion
1.083 AU
Longitude of ascending node
155.35°
Argument of periapsis
77.8°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 37.5 LD
0.0964 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.578

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
577
Data arc
22.03 years
First observed
7 October 2004
Last observed
17 October 2026
Residual RMS
0.69 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
18 October 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
0.24 km

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.419
Absolute magnitude (H)
18.27

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Siding Spring Survey
Discovery date
7 October 2004
Discovery site
Siding Spring

Also known as 2004 TR12

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 68 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 260277 at 2033-02-15 16:13 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-02-15 16:13 UTC close approach of 260277. Catalogue miss distance 59.8 LD · 2.3 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-02-12 to 2033-02-18, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 59.8 LD · 2.3 × 10⁷ km 2033-02-15 16:13 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-02-15 16:13 UTC close approach of 260277. Catalogue miss distance 59.8 LD · 2.3 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-02-12 to 2033-02-18, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2033-02-15 16:13:00 Earth 0.1536 AU 59.8 LD 12 km/s
2033-03-13 12:43:00 Venus 0.1494 AU 58.2 LD 16.8 km/s
2039-12-20 06:28:00 Venus 0.1052 AU 40.9 LD 15.2 km/s
2044-02-21 00:45:00 Earth 0.1693 AU 65.9 LD 11.7 km/s
2046-09-26 13:40:00 Venus 0.078 AU 30.4 LD 14.1 km/s
2053-07-03 13:51:00 Venus 0.0672 AU 26.2 LD 13.5 km/s
2055-02-22 03:22:00 Earth 0.1748 AU 68.0 LD 11.7 km/s
2060-04-09 08:46:00 Venus 0.0647 AU 25.2 LD 13.3 km/s
2066-02-20 06:48:00 Earth 0.1683 AU 65.5 LD 11.7 km/s
2067-01-15 01:19:00 Venus 0.0644 AU 25.1 LD 13.3 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources