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Centaur

2012 SS109

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(2012 SS109)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.291 AU
True anomaly
66.09°
Distance from Earth
3.506 AU
As of
11 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth 2012 SS109 — 3.291 AU from the Sun 2012 SS109
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2012 SS109 is 3.506 AU from Earth today (29.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 35m 59s
Declination
+06° 58′ 54″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
3.5 AU
Elongation from the Sun
69.94° — 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
5.526 AU
Eccentricity
0.5265
Inclination
13.36°
Orbital period
12.99 years
Perihelion
2.616 AU
Aphelion
8.435 AU
Longitude of ascending node
175.96°
Argument of periapsis
229.89°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 641.3 LD
1.6479 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.646

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
119
Data arc
13.39 years
First observed
17 September 2012
Last observed
5 February 2026
Residual RMS
0.43 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
16.65

Discovery & classification

Centaur

Close approaches 8 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2028-02-13 22:31:00 Juptr 0.4956 AU 192.9 LD 8.2 km/s
2028-02-13 22:31:00 Jupiter 0.4956 AU 192.9 LD 8.2 km/s
2081-07-13 10:25:00 Juptr 1.4352 AU 558.6 LD 6.1 km/s
2099-03-11 10:23:00 Juptr 0.728 AU 283.3 LD 8.6 km/s
2146-04-09 17:15:00 Juptr 0.9001 AU 350.3 LD 5.4 km/s

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

Sources