Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2012 WH

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2012 WH)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.026 AU
True anomaly
201.89°
Distance from Earth
0.987 AU
As of
20 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2012 WH — 1.026 AU from the Sun 2012 WH
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2012 WH is 0.987 AU from Earth today (8.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 49m 54s
Declination
+10° 45′ 17″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
0.98 AU
Elongation from the Sun
62.33° — 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
0.907 AU
Eccentricity
0.1451
Inclination
4.09°
Orbital period
315.3 days
Perihelion
0.775 AU
Aphelion
1.038 AU
Longitude of ascending node
235.07°
Argument of periapsis
8.86°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 12.9 LD
0.0331 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.563

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
46
Data arc
27 days
First observed
17 November 2012
Last observed
14 December 2012
Residual RMS
0.37 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.5

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 32 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2012 WH at 2037-10-16 14:59 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2037-10-16 14:59 UTC close approach of 2012 WH. Catalogue miss distance 56.8 LD · 2.18 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2037-10-13 to 2037-10-19, 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 north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 56.8 LD · 2.18 × 10⁷ km 2037-10-16 14:59 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2037-10-16 14:59 UTC close approach of 2012 WH. Catalogue miss distance 56.8 LD · 2.18 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2037-10-13 to 2037-10-19, 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 north 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
2027-03-08 22:27:00 Venus 0.0958 AU 37.3 LD 5.6 km/s
2031-06-27 00:46:00 Venus 0.0555 AU 21.6 LD 4.8 km/s
2035-10-16 05:16:00 Venus 0.0496 AU 19.3 LD 4.8 km/s
2037-10-16 14:59:00 Earth 0.1459 AU 56.8 LD 8.3 km/s
2040-02-04 08:46:00 Venus 0.0559 AU 21.7 LD 4.8 km/s
2075-10-16 12:15:00 Earth 0.1232 AU 48.0 LD 7.7 km/s
2076-04-23 15:42:00 Earth 0.2186 AU 85.1 LD 6.4 km/s
2076-05-29 13:38:00 Venus 0.1494 AU 58.1 LD 6.7 km/s
2080-09-12 23:50:00 Venus 0.0621 AU 24.2 LD 4.9 km/s
2159-01-13 12:23:00 Earth 0.2016 AU 78.5 LD 10 km/s

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

Sources