Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 RE12

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2021 RE12)

2021 RE12 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.63 AU to 1.36 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 363 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 26 August 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.248 AU
True anomaly
212.55°
Distance from Earth
0.567 AU
As of
2 November 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 — 0.992 AU from the Sun Earth 2021 RE12 — 1.248 AU from the Sun 2021 RE12
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 RE12 is 0.567 AU from Earth today (4.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
22h 28m 31s
Declination
-36° 51′ 44″
Constellation
Grus
Distance from Earth
0.57 AU
Elongation from the Sun
102.02° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
0.996 AU
Eccentricity
0.3672
Inclination
21.91°
Orbital period
363 days
Perihelion
0.63 AU
Aphelion
1.361 AU
Longitude of ascending node
167.03°
Argument of periapsis
358.64°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 126.8 LD
0.3258 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
5.98

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
27
Data arc
6.02 years
First observed
8 September 2019
Last observed
16 September 2025
Residual RMS
0.41 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
26 August 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23.24

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 19 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2054-07-01 16:13:00 Mars 0.0617 AU 24.0 LD 11 km/s
2071-06-11 20:20:00 Mars 0.0913 AU 35.5 LD 11.7 km/s
2089-10-11 16:18:00 Venus 0.128 AU 49.8 LD 17.5 km/s
2102-09-21 02:55:00 Venus 0.0927 AU 36.1 LD 17.3 km/s
2115-08-30 12:03:00 Venus 0.0908 AU 35.3 LD 17.6 km/s
2124-02-01 15:24:00 Mars 0.0963 AU 37.5 LD 11.1 km/s
2128-08-06 20:17:00 Venus 0.1223 AU 47.6 LD 18.3 km/s
2141-01-10 16:41:00 Mars 0.0268 AU 10.4 LD 11.1 km/s
2167-05-14 19:39:00 Venus 0.1497 AU 58.3 LD 18.9 km/s
2193-09-07 14:27:00 Mars 0.0441 AU 17.2 LD 11 km/s

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

Sources