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Asteroid Near-Earth

385268

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385268 (2001 RC12)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.833 AU
True anomaly
161.71°
Distance from Earth
5.827 AU
As of
11 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth 385268 — 4.833 AU from the Sun 385268
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 385268 is 5.827 AU from Earth today (48.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 58m 13s
Declination
-11° 26′ 51″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
5.83 AU
Elongation from the Sun
4.98° — too close to the Sun to observe

Visible from both hemispheres.

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
3.209 AU
Eccentricity
0.6427
Inclination
27.41°
Orbital period
5.75 years
Perihelion
1.147 AU
Aphelion
5.272 AU
Longitude of ascending node
208.9°
Argument of periapsis
185.53°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · AMO
Amor
Earth MOID · 59.4 LD
0.1527 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.69

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
1,290
Data arc
24.38 years
First observed
10 September 2001
Last observed
28 January 2026
Residual RMS
0.33 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
29 January 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
1.60 km

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.08
Absolute magnitude (H)
15.81

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
LINEAR
Discovery date
10 September 2001
Discovery site
Socorro

Also known as 2001 RC12

Amor Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 3 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 385268 at 2087-10-28 11:02 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2087-10-28 11:02 UTC close approach of 385268. Catalogue miss distance 74.3 LD · 2.85 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2087-10-25 to 2087-10-31, 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. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 74.3 LD · 2.85 × 10⁷ km 2087-10-28 11:02 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2087-10-28 11:02 UTC close approach of 385268. Catalogue miss distance 74.3 LD · 2.85 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2087-10-25 to 2087-10-31, 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. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2087-10-28 11:02:00 Earth 0.1908 AU 74.3 LD 16.6 km/s
2124-07-28 13:20:00 Juptr 1.8713 AU 728.2 LD 10.7 km/s
2136-06-15 11:02:00 Juptr 1.9925 AU 775.4 LD 11 km/s

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

Sources