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Asteroid Near-Earth

2012 SX49

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(2012 SX49)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.026 AU
True anomaly
222.39°
Distance from Earth
0.662 AU
As of
22 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2012 SX49 — 1.026 AU from the Sun 2012 SX49
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2012 SX49 is 0.662 AU from Earth today (5.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 23m 22s
Declination
+21° 31′ 34″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
0.66 AU
Elongation from the Sun
73.4° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
0.951 AU
Eccentricity
0.116
Inclination
3.95°
Orbital period
338.7 days
Perihelion
0.841 AU
Aphelion
1.061 AU
Longitude of ascending node
353.04°
Argument of periapsis
212.01°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 7.8 LD
0.02 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.319

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
35
Data arc
2 days
First observed
22 September 2012
Last observed
24 September 2012
Residual RMS
0.29 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.2

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 53 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2012 SX49 at 2036-09-05 05:23 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2036-09-05 05:23 UTC close approach of 2012 SX49. Catalogue miss distance 146.7 LD · 5.64 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2036-09-02 to 2036-09-08, 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 146.7 LD · 5.64 × 10⁷ km 2036-09-05 05:23 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2036-09-05 05:23 UTC close approach of 2012 SX49. Catalogue miss distance 146.7 LD · 5.64 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2036-09-02 to 2036-09-08, 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
2036-09-05 05:23:00 Earth 0.3768 AU 146.7 LD 14.8 km/s
2038-03-10 21:45:00 Earth 0.1418 AU 55.2 LD 4.4 km/s
2038-12-17 22:28:00 Earth 0.2769 AU 107.8 LD 11.7 km/s
2049-08-31 00:16:00 Earth 0.2434 AU 94.7 LD 10.8 km/s
2051-12-11 15:16:00 Earth 0.4146 AU 161.4 LD 16 km/s
2062-08-27 12:37:00 Earth 0.11 AU 42.8 LD 6.8 km/s
2063-12-26 01:56:00 Earth 0.1092 AU 42.5 LD 6.1 km/s
2074-09-06 05:01:00 Earth 0.4077 AU 158.7 LD 15.7 km/s
2075-09-09 07:59:00 Earth 0.0363 AU 14.1 LD 3.2 km/s
2076-03-14 00:43:00 Earth 0.1476 AU 57.4 LD 4.6 km/s

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

Sources