Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2012 XN55

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2012 XN55)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.809 AU
True anomaly
234.27°
Distance from Earth
1.534 AU
As of
16 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 — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 2012 XN55 — 0.809 AU from the Sun 2012 XN55
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2012 XN55 is 1.534 AU from Earth today (12.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 32m 52s
Declination
-12° 11′ 09″
Constellation
Crater
Distance from Earth
1.53 AU
Elongation from the Sun
28.23° — 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
0.749 AU
Eccentricity
0.454
Inclination
29.08°
Orbital period
236.6 days
Perihelion
0.409 AU
Aphelion
1.088 AU
Longitude of ascending node
256.27°
Argument of periapsis
15°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 25.3 LD
0.0651 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.542

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
68
Data arc
11 years
First observed
8 December 2012
Last observed
9 December 2023
Residual RMS
0.45 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
11 December 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23.87

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 207 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2012 XN55 at 2027-12-31 22:30 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-12-31 22:30 UTC close approach of 2012 XN55. Catalogue miss distance 153.5 LD · 5.9 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-12-28 to 2028-01-03, 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 south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 153.5 LD · 5.9 × 10⁷ km 2027-12-31 22:30 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-12-31 22:30 UTC close approach of 2012 XN55. Catalogue miss distance 153.5 LD · 5.9 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-12-28 to 2028-01-03, 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 south 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
2027-12-31 22:30:00 Earth 0.3944 AU 153.5 LD 20 km/s
2032-12-06 20:25:00 Earth 0.3567 AU 138.8 LD 25.1 km/s
2034-09-07 03:21:00 Merc 0.0546 AU 21.2 LD 32.8 km/s
2034-09-07 03:21:00 Mercury 0.0546 AU 21.2 LD 32.8 km/s
2034-12-04 00:02:00 Earth 0.0919 AU 35.8 LD 17.4 km/s
2036-12-15 01:11:00 Earth 0.1754 AU 68.3 LD 15.6 km/s
2038-12-30 10:53:00 Earth 0.3548 AU 138.1 LD 18.7 km/s
2043-02-06 18:24:00 Merc 0.0604 AU 23.5 LD 34.5 km/s
2043-02-06 18:24:00 Mercury 0.0604 AU 23.5 LD 34.5 km/s
2043-12-09 12:38:00 Earth 0.4164 AU 162.1 LD 27 km/s

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

Sources