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Asteroid Near-Earth

2012 EP3

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(2012 EP3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.558 AU
True anomaly
356.37°
Distance from Earth
1.233 AU
As of
21 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 EP3 — 0.558 AU from the Sun 2012 EP3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2012 EP3 is 1.233 AU from Earth today (10.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 36m 37s
Declination
-17° 25′ 25″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
1.22 AU
Elongation from the Sun
26.77° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.934 AU
Eccentricity
0.4032
Inclination
6.57°
Orbital period
329.7 days
Perihelion
0.557 AU
Aphelion
1.31 AU
Longitude of ascending node
148.43°
Argument of periapsis
141.9°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 14.9 LD
0.0382 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.342

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
19
Data arc
24 hours
First observed
3 March 2012
Last observed
4 March 2012
Residual RMS
0.77 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.5

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 48 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2012 EP3 at 2039-05-20 23:47 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2039-05-20 23:47 UTC close approach of 2012 EP3. Catalogue miss distance 155.0 LD · 5.96 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2039-05-17 to 2039-05-23, 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 approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. approximate Sun 155.0 LD · 5.96 × 10⁷ km 2039-05-20 23:47 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2039-05-20 23:47 UTC close approach of 2012 EP3. Catalogue miss distance 155.0 LD · 5.96 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2039-05-17 to 2039-05-23, 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 approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2039-05-20 23:47:00 Earth 0.3984 AU 155.0 LD 12.9 km/s
2040-03-04 17:45:00 Earth 0.1367 AU 53.2 LD 16.8 km/s
2112-11-13 01:44:00 Earth 0.1335 AU 51.9 LD 10.4 km/s
2113-08-11 21:50:00 Earth 0.4368 AU 170.0 LD 16.8 km/s

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

Sources