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Asteroid Near-Earth

2012 MX2

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(2012 MX2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.199 AU
True anomaly
191.46°
Distance from Earth
1.447 AU
As of
17 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2012 MX2 — 1.199 AU from the Sun 2012 MX2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2012 MX2 is 1.447 AU from Earth today (12.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 17m 46s
Declination
-20° 26′ 41″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
1.45 AU
Elongation from the Sun
54.83° — 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
0.823 AU
Eccentricity
0.4851
Inclination
5.3°
Orbital period
272.5 days
Perihelion
0.424 AU
Aphelion
1.222 AU
Longitude of ascending node
266.1°
Argument of periapsis
205.05°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 8.4 LD
0.0215 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.018

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
47
Data arc
12.11 years
First observed
18 June 2012
Last observed
27 July 2024
Residual RMS
0.6 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 August 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23.38

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 203 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2012 MX2 at 2027-08-19 17:41 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-08-19 17:41 UTC close approach of 2012 MX2. Catalogue miss distance 44.0 LD · 1.69 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-08-16 to 2027-08-22, 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 44.0 LD · 1.69 × 10⁷ km 2027-08-19 17:41 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-08-19 17:41 UTC close approach of 2012 MX2. Catalogue miss distance 44.0 LD · 1.69 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-08-16 to 2027-08-22, 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
2027-08-19 17:41:00 Earth 0.1131 AU 44.0 LD 10.7 km/s
2029-04-01 08:54:00 Venus 0.1412 AU 55.0 LD 13.3 km/s
2030-03-14 23:00:00 Venus 0.1224 AU 47.6 LD 13.4 km/s
2030-08-22 21:56:00 Earth 0.0841 AU 32.7 LD 12.8 km/s
2033-08-21 19:18:00 Earth 0.1276 AU 49.6 LD 15.6 km/s
2035-06-19 22:28:00 Earth 0.4803 AU 186.9 LD 28 km/s
2036-08-18 19:43:00 Earth 0.2084 AU 81.1 LD 18.6 km/s
2038-06-15 14:30:00 Earth 0.3869 AU 150.6 LD 25 km/s
2039-08-15 23:54:00 Earth 0.2993 AU 116.5 LD 21.7 km/s
2039-09-09 16:02:00 Venus 0.1079 AU 42.0 LD 18.7 km/s

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

Sources