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Asteroid Near-Earth

2012 DO8

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(2012 DO8)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.152 AU
True anomaly
157.02°
Distance from Earth
1.785 AU
As of
22 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2012 DO8 — 1.152 AU from the Sun 2012 DO8
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2012 DO8 is 1.785 AU from Earth today (14.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 38m 11s
Declination
+05° 00′ 47″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.78 AU
Elongation from the Sun
36.78° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.948 AU
Eccentricity
0.247
Inclination
8.75°
Orbital period
337.1 days
Perihelion
0.714 AU
Aphelion
1.182 AU
Longitude of ascending node
347.23°
Argument of periapsis
357.11°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 49.1 LD
0.1263 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.306

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
109
Data arc
11.07 years
First observed
21 February 2012
Last observed
18 March 2023
Residual RMS
0.56 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
19 March 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.34

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 170 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2012 DO8 at 2034-01-10 12:41 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-01-10 12:41 UTC close approach of 2012 DO8. Catalogue miss distance 144.2 LD · 5.54 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-01-07 to 2034-01-13, 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 north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 144.2 LD · 5.54 × 10⁷ km 2034-01-10 12:41 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-01-10 12:41 UTC close approach of 2012 DO8. Catalogue miss distance 144.2 LD · 5.54 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-01-07 to 2034-01-13, 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 north 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
2027-05-19 12:43:00 Venus 0.0948 AU 36.9 LD 8.5 km/s
2029-03-26 03:13:00 Venus 0.1049 AU 40.8 LD 8.9 km/s
2031-02-01 18:14:00 Venus 0.1212 AU 47.2 LD 9.6 km/s
2032-12-10 17:42:00 Venus 0.143 AU 55.6 LD 10.7 km/s
2034-01-10 12:41:00 Earth 0.3705 AU 144.2 LD 18.1 km/s
2035-01-23 09:18:00 Earth 0.163 AU 63.5 LD 6.7 km/s
2035-09-05 20:49:00 Earth 0.2943 AU 114.5 LD 11.1 km/s
2036-04-04 19:33:00 Earth 0.1613 AU 62.8 LD 7 km/s
2037-04-25 05:24:00 Earth 0.3191 AU 124.2 LD 16.4 km/s
2047-01-02 15:11:00 Earth 0.1733 AU 67.4 LD 10.6 km/s

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

Sources