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Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 SP12

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(2026 SP12)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.953 AU
True anomaly
239.06°
Distance from Earth
0.179 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 2026 SP12 — 0.953 AU from the Sun 2026 SP12
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 SP12 is 0.179 AU from Earth today (1.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 41m 10s
Declination
-77° 46′ 58″
Constellation
Apus
Distance from Earth
0.18 AU
Elongation from the Sun
70.75° — 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
0.889 AU
Eccentricity
0.2066
Inclination
19.01°
Orbital period
306.4 days
Perihelion
0.706 AU
Aphelion
1.073 AU
Longitude of ascending node
175.28°
Argument of periapsis
329.1°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 10.8 LD
0.0277 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.615

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
36
Data arc
2 days
First observed
17 September 2026
Last observed
19 September 2026
Residual RMS
0.42 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
23 September 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.27

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 44 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 SP12 at 2047-09-21 14:03 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2047-09-21 14:03 UTC close approach of 2026 SP12. Catalogue miss distance 22.3 LD · 8.57 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2047-09-18 to 2047-09-24, 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 22.3 LD · 8.57 × 10⁶ km 2047-09-21 14:03 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2047-09-21 14:03 UTC close approach of 2026 SP12. Catalogue miss distance 22.3 LD · 8.57 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2047-09-18 to 2047-09-24, 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
2047-09-21 14:03:00 Earth 0.0573 AU 22.3 LD 10.8 km/s
2052-04-11 00:10:00 Venus 0.147 AU 57.2 LD 13 km/s
2052-09-13 01:11:00 Earth 0.131 AU 51.0 LD 9.8 km/s
2061-07-03 20:19:00 Venus 0.1408 AU 54.8 LD 12.9 km/s
2070-09-25 04:23:00 Venus 0.1433 AU 55.8 LD 12.9 km/s
2073-09-20 13:40:00 Earth 0.0367 AU 14.3 LD 10.5 km/s
2078-09-13 19:13:00 Earth 0.1273 AU 49.5 LD 9.8 km/s
2091-09-07 06:12:00 Venus 0.1407 AU 54.8 LD 16.7 km/s
2099-09-22 02:50:00 Earth 0.1192 AU 46.4 LD 11.9 km/s
2100-11-27 17:48:00 Venus 0.0916 AU 35.7 LD 15.2 km/s

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

Sources