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Asteroid Near-Earth

2012 RT16

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(2012 RT16)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.796 AU
True anomaly
283.97°
Distance from Earth
1.572 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 RT16 — 0.796 AU from the Sun 2012 RT16
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2012 RT16 is 1.572 AU from Earth today (13.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 13m 02s
Declination
-03° 22′ 12″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.57 AU
Elongation from the Sun
25.03° — 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
0.934 AU
Eccentricity
0.2953
Inclination
10.4°
Orbital period
329.7 days
Perihelion
0.658 AU
Aphelion
1.21 AU
Longitude of ascending node
172.06°
Argument of periapsis
54.46°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 4.5 LD
0.0116 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.367

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
27
Data arc
2 days
First observed
15 September 2012
Last observed
17 September 2012
Residual RMS
0.66 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.9

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 186 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2012 RT16 at 2030-09-22 17:29 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-09-22 17:29 UTC close approach of 2012 RT16. Catalogue miss distance 136.1 LD · 5.23 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-09-19 to 2030-09-25, 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 136.1 LD · 5.23 × 10⁷ km 2030-09-22 17:29 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-09-22 17:29 UTC close approach of 2012 RT16. Catalogue miss distance 136.1 LD · 5.23 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-09-19 to 2030-09-25, 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
2029-09-13 05:05:00 Venus 0.1441 AU 56.1 LD 9.2 km/s
2030-09-22 17:29:00 Earth 0.3498 AU 136.1 LD 20.3 km/s
2031-05-15 08:03:00 Venus 0.0372 AU 14.5 LD 11.6 km/s
2031-10-04 08:57:00 Earth 0.2018 AU 78.5 LD 7.6 km/s
2032-04-23 23:46:00 Earth 0.3589 AU 139.7 LD 12.8 km/s
2033-01-21 03:02:00 Earth 0.1468 AU 57.1 LD 10.2 km/s
2039-09-28 00:30:00 Earth 0.4681 AU 182.2 LD 23.9 km/s
2040-09-15 13:52:00 Earth 0.1135 AU 44.2 LD 7.8 km/s
2041-05-09 09:17:00 Earth 0.3729 AU 145.1 LD 12.8 km/s
2042-02-04 17:23:00 Earth 0.1777 AU 69.2 LD 8.2 km/s

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

Sources