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Asteroid Near-Earth

2012 YK

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(2012 YK)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.044 AU
True anomaly
172.26°
Distance from Earth
0.759 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 YK — 1.044 AU from the Sun 2012 YK
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2012 YK is 0.759 AU from Earth today (6.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 51m 47s
Declination
+11° 35′ 30″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
0.76 AU
Elongation from the Sun
71.63° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.759 AU
Eccentricity
0.3841
Inclination
11.27°
Orbital period
241.4 days
Perihelion
0.467 AU
Aphelion
1.05 AU
Longitude of ascending node
88.59°
Argument of periapsis
165.55°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 12.9 LD
0.033 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.549

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
154
Data arc
4.01 years
First observed
17 December 2012
Last observed
19 December 2016
Residual RMS
0.52 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 315 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2012 YK at 2026-12-22 17:39 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-22 17:39 UTC close approach of 2012 YK. Catalogue miss distance 190.3 LD · 7.32 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-19 to 2026-12-25, 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 a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 190.3 LD · 7.32 × 10⁷ km 2026-12-22 17:39 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-22 17:39 UTC close approach of 2012 YK. Catalogue miss distance 190.3 LD · 7.32 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-19 to 2026-12-25, 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 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
2026-12-22 17:39:00 Earth 0.4891 AU 190.3 LD 25.6 km/s
2029-02-11 10:33:00 Merc 0.0859 AU 33.4 LD 19 km/s
2029-02-11 10:33:00 Mercury 0.0859 AU 33.4 LD 19 km/s
2035-08-16 10:45:00 Venus 0.0887 AU 34.5 LD 12.5 km/s
2037-10-31 18:47:00 Venus 0.1025 AU 39.9 LD 15 km/s
2039-11-21 07:12:00 Earth 0.4748 AU 184.8 LD 24.2 km/s
2041-11-17 10:20:00 Earth 0.3833 AU 149.2 LD 20.9 km/s
2043-11-15 06:29:00 Earth 0.2952 AU 114.9 LD 17.6 km/s
2044-03-23 12:14:00 Venus 0.1365 AU 53.1 LD 19.5 km/s
2044-04-13 01:47:00 Earth 0.4954 AU 192.8 LD 16.6 km/s

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

Sources