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Asteroid Near-Earth

2012 WH1

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(2012 WH1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.085 AU
True anomaly
171.75°
Distance from Earth
0.106 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 WH1 — 1.085 AU from the Sun 2012 WH1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2012 WH1 is 0.106 AU from Earth today (53.1 light-seconds).

In the sky

Right ascension
01h 23m 15s
Declination
-25° 15′ 52″
Constellation
Sculptor
Distance from Earth
0.11 AU
Elongation from the Sun
144.86° — 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
0.817 AU
Eccentricity
0.3361
Inclination
4.6°
Orbital period
269.5 days
Perihelion
0.542 AU
Aphelion
1.091 AU
Longitude of ascending node
63.82°
Argument of periapsis
147.55°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.8 LD
0.0071 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.116

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
107
Data arc
13.88 years
First observed
19 November 2012
Last observed
6 October 2026
Residual RMS
0.43 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
7 October 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.21

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 170 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2012 WH1 at 2029-12-02 03:23 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-12-02 03:23 UTC close approach of 2012 WH1. Catalogue miss distance 9.55 LD · 3.67 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-11-29 to 2029-12-05, 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 30 Nov 5 Dec 9.55 LD · 3.67 × 10⁶ km 2029-12-02 03:23 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-12-02 03:23 UTC close approach of 2012 WH1. Catalogue miss distance 9.55 LD · 3.67 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-11-29 to 2029-12-05, 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
2026-10-13 04:10:00 Earth 0.1026 AU 39.9 LD 7 km/s
2029-12-02 03:23:00 Earth 0.0245 AU 9.5 LD 9.3 km/s
2030-01-15 09:11:00 Venus 0.037 AU 14.4 LD 13.3 km/s
2033-09-21 00:58:00 Venus 0.1179 AU 45.9 LD 17.4 km/s
2034-09-01 17:49:00 Venus 0.0818 AU 31.8 LD 15.6 km/s
2037-09-20 22:38:00 Earth 0.1694 AU 65.9 LD 13.2 km/s
2038-05-08 08:57:00 Venus 0.019 AU 7.4 LD 11.8 km/s
2038-12-30 16:32:00 Merc 0.0948 AU 36.9 LD 6.5 km/s
2038-12-30 16:32:00 Mercury 0.0948 AU 36.9 LD 6.5 km/s
2040-10-22 05:11:00 Earth 0.1053 AU 41.0 LD 7 km/s

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

Sources