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Asteroid Near-Earth Potentially hazardous

2012 DK31

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(2012 DK31)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.322 AU
True anomaly
319.3°
Distance from Earth
1.138 AU
As of
15 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 DK31 — 0.322 AU from the Sun 2012 DK31
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2012 DK31 is 1.138 AU from Earth today (9.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 29m 31s
Declination
-11° 42′ 34″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
1.11 AU
Elongation from the Sun
15.95° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.694 AU
Eccentricity
0.5767
Inclination
11.17°
Orbital period
211.1 days
Perihelion
0.294 AU
Aphelion
1.094 AU
Longitude of ascending node
165.17°
Argument of periapsis
149.29°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 9.7 LD
0.025 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
8.085

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
151
Data arc
10.9 years
First observed
24 February 2012
Last observed
20 January 2023
Residual RMS
0.4 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 February 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object Potentially Hazardous Asteroid

Close approaches 384 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2012 DK31 at 2027-02-10 03:35 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-02-10 03:35 UTC close approach of 2012 DK31. Catalogue miss distance 55.2 LD · 2.12 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-02-07 to 2027-02-13, 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 55.2 LD · 2.12 × 10⁷ km 2027-02-10 03:35 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-02-10 03:35 UTC close approach of 2012 DK31. Catalogue miss distance 55.2 LD · 2.12 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-02-07 to 2027-02-13, 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
2026-10-28 08:11:00 Merc 0.0328 AU 12.8 LD 30.2 km/s
2026-10-28 08:11:00 Mercury 0.0328 AU 12.8 LD 30.2 km/s
2026-11-23 12:18:00 Venus 0.142 AU 55.3 LD 21.1 km/s
2027-02-10 03:35:00 Earth 0.1418 AU 55.2 LD 12.4 km/s
2027-11-30 03:48:00 Merc 0.0797 AU 31.0 LD 29.3 km/s
2027-11-30 03:48:00 Mercury 0.0797 AU 31.0 LD 29.3 km/s
2029-09-17 12:45:00 Merc 0.0434 AU 16.9 LD 29 km/s
2029-09-17 12:45:00 Mercury 0.0434 AU 16.9 LD 29 km/s
2030-02-18 15:42:00 Earth 0.3727 AU 145.0 LD 27.6 km/s
2030-02-25 06:58:00 Venus 0.1375 AU 53.5 LD 16.5 km/s

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

Sources