Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2012 HN1

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2012 HN1)

2012 HN1 is an asteroid in the Apollo orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.87 AU to 1.18 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 379.4 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.018 AU
True anomaly
263.85°
Distance from Earth
1.995 AU
As of
3 November 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 — 0.992 AU from the Sun Earth 2012 HN1 — 1.018 AU from the Sun 2012 HN1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2012 HN1 is 1.995 AU from Earth today (16.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 11m 07s
Declination
-12° 54′ 32″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.99 AU
Elongation from the Sun
7.07° — 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
1.026 AU
Eccentricity
0.153
Inclination
2.41°
Orbital period
379.4 days
Perihelion
0.869 AU
Aphelion
1.183 AU
Longitude of ascending node
194.71°
Argument of periapsis
108.84°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 4.4 LD
0.0114 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
5.95

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
30
Data arc
6 days
First observed
17 April 2012
Last observed
23 April 2012
Residual RMS
0.69 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27

Discovery & classification

Apollo Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 21 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2012 HN1 at 2037-04-05 00:54 UTC Sun 154.6 LD · 5.94 × 10⁷ km 2037-04-05 00:54 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2037-04-05 00:54 UTC close approach of 2012 HN1. Catalogue miss distance 154.6 LD · 5.94 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2037-04-02 to 2037-04-08, 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
2037-04-05 00:54:00 Earth 0.3973 AU 154.6 LD 16.9 km/s
2038-04-15 08:29:00 Earth 0.1567 AU 61.0 LD 9.7 km/s
2040-02-06 23:54:00 Earth 0.1976 AU 76.9 LD 5 km/s
2040-12-20 15:30:00 Earth 0.1807 AU 70.3 LD 4.5 km/s
2041-10-23 06:57:00 Earth 0.0118 AU 4.6 LD 5.3 km/s
2042-11-05 08:26:00 Earth 0.2798 AU 108.9 LD 13.5 km/s

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

Sources