Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2012 BT1

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2012 BT1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.902 AU
True anomaly
225.9°
Distance from Earth
1.848 AU
As of
16 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 — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 2012 BT1 — 0.902 AU from the Sun 2012 BT1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2012 BT1 is 1.848 AU from Earth today (15.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 44m 55s
Declination
-02° 49′ 58″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.85 AU
Elongation from the Sun
12.53° — 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
0.783 AU
Eccentricity
0.307
Inclination
4.35°
Orbital period
253.1 days
Perihelion
0.543 AU
Aphelion
1.023 AU
Longitude of ascending node
117.64°
Argument of periapsis
193.71°
Epoch · J2000
2455945.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.1 LD
0.0131 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.382

Orbit quality

Orbit very uncertain — the object may be effectively lost (uncertainty code 8).

Observations used
20
Data arc
24 hours
First observed
18 January 2012
Last observed
19 January 2012
Residual RMS
0.49 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27.4

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 102 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2012 BT1 at 2027-10-23 16:08 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-10-23 16:08 UTC close approach of 2012 BT1. Catalogue miss distance 132.8 LD · 5.1 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-10-20 to 2027-10-26, 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 inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 132.8 LD · 5.1 × 10⁷ km 2027-10-23 16:08 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-10-23 16:08 UTC close approach of 2012 BT1. Catalogue miss distance 132.8 LD · 5.1 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-10-20 to 2027-10-26, 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 inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2027-10-23 16:08:00 Earth 0.3412 AU 132.8 LD 7.6 km/s
2028-02-28 07:37:00 Earth 0.1218 AU 47.4 LD 10.3 km/s
2028-12-22 12:50:00 Venus 0.0292 AU 11.4 LD 10.6 km/s
2030-01-02 17:13:00 Earth 0.1588 AU 61.8 LD 12 km/s
2030-05-18 04:26:00 Earth 0.3627 AU 141.2 LD 9 km/s
2032-07-15 12:59:00 Earth 0.4654 AU 181.1 LD 16.5 km/s
2034-07-22 13:54:00 Venus 0.1206 AU 46.9 LD 6.7 km/s
2034-09-05 11:38:00 Earth 0.4462 AU 173.6 LD 15.1 km/s
2035-02-18 09:01:00 Earth 0.4656 AU 181.2 LD 22.2 km/s
2035-06-12 19:58:00 Venus 0.0309 AU 12.0 LD 10.7 km/s

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

Sources