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Asteroid Near-Earth

2012 QH8

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(2012 QH8)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.172 AU
True anomaly
208.88°
Distance from Earth
0.827 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 QH8 — 1.172 AU from the Sun 2012 QH8
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2012 QH8 is 0.827 AU from Earth today (6.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
19h 24m 26s
Declination
-33° 50′ 53″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
0.83 AU
Elongation from the Sun
79.18° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.919 AU
Eccentricity
0.3669
Inclination
19.41°
Orbital period
321.8 days
Perihelion
0.582 AU
Aphelion
1.256 AU
Longitude of ascending node
140.94°
Argument of periapsis
356.45°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 87.7 LD
0.2252 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.4

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
94
Data arc
13.85 years
First observed
19 August 2012
Last observed
25 June 2026
Residual RMS
0.4 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
10 August 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
21.45

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 21 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2055-04-27 09:34:00 Venus 0.1312 AU 51.0 LD 16.2 km/s
2061-07-03 20:01:00 Venus 0.1355 AU 52.7 LD 16.3 km/s
2087-11-26 20:39:00 Venus 0.1417 AU 55.1 LD 16.3 km/s
2094-02-02 16:17:00 Venus 0.1293 AU 50.3 LD 16.2 km/s
2100-04-11 23:12:00 Venus 0.1472 AU 57.3 LD 16.6 km/s
2126-09-05 05:57:00 Venus 0.1336 AU 52.0 LD 16.2 km/s
2132-11-11 19:51:00 Venus 0.1328 AU 51.7 LD 16.3 km/s
2159-04-06 17:28:00 Venus 0.146 AU 56.8 LD 16.2 km/s
2165-06-13 14:27:00 Venus 0.1297 AU 50.5 LD 16.2 km/s
2171-08-21 00:04:00 Venus 0.1421 AU 55.3 LD 16.5 km/s

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

Sources