2012 DO8

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2012 DO8

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 25,902,322 km of Earth in 2023
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2012 DO8 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2012 DO8 as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

2012 DO8 orbits the sun every 337 days (0.92 years), coming as close as 0.71 AU and reaching as far as 1.18 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2012 DO8 is probably between 0.059 to 0.265 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2012 DO8's orbit is 0.13 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

2012 DO8 has 32 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 2, 2023 25,902,322 6.946
April 18, 2024 20,265,157 6.916
Jan. 23, 2035 24,391,822 6.690
April 4, 2036 24,131,334 6.975
Jan. 2, 2047 25,920,803 10.645
March 1, 2048 29,248,092 7.500
April 30, 2049 21,296,734 9.481
Jan. 16, 2060 23,059,988 6.592
March 28, 2061 26,032,899 7.160
Feb. 16, 2073 28,573,985 7.356
April 26, 2074 19,294,589 7.378
Jan. 2, 2085 20,924,271 7.921
March 14, 2086 28,460,500 7.458
April 30, 2087 29,567,281 12.081
Feb. 6, 2098 27,007,354 7.105
April 18, 2099 21,181,074 6.875
Jan. 10, 2110 21,322,898 6.808
March 29, 2111 25,814,951 7.152
Feb. 6, 2122 25,889,057 7.033
April 25, 2123 19,195,070 7.263
Jan. 5, 2133 21,013,764 8.291
March 23, 2134 26,154,186 7.234
Feb. 22, 2145 27,590,813 7.353
May 1, 2146 21,993,023 9.654
Jan. 25, 2156 23,304,590 6.702
April 15, 2157 21,239,723 6.826
Jan. 5, 2167 22,780,217 9.377
March 17, 2168 26,948,983 7.316
Feb. 15, 2179 26,948,024 7.217
April 29, 2180 19,379,591 8.247
Jan. 6, 2190 20,635,124 7.921
March 23, 2191 26,528,709 7.260

Images and Observations

2012 DO8's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 21, 2012. It was last officially observed on March 18, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 109 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2012 DO8 can be reached with a journey of 450 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 11.084 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 1,628 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2012 DO8.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2012 DO8:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9476 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2466
  • Inclination: 8.77°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 347.33°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 357.04°
  • Mean Anomaly: 11.32°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.162 km
  • Magnitude: 22.34

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 337 days (0.92 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.59 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.18 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.71 AU

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

⧉

Sky Map

The position of 2012 DO8 is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.

Size Rendering

The below comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2012 DO8 to create an approximate landscape rendering with New York City in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.