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A list of known near-Earth asteroid close approaches less than 1 lunar distance (384,400 km or 0.00257 AU) from Earth in 2012, based on the close approach database of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). [1] Rows highlighted red indicate objects which were not discovered until after closest approach
In August 2014, scientists from the University of Tennessee determined that 1950 DA is a rubble pile rotating faster than the breakup limit for its density, implying the asteroid is held together by van der Waals forces rather than gravity. [20] [21] 1950 DA made distant approaches to Earth on 20 May 2012, 5 February 2021 and 5 February 2023. [18]
This means 2012 KT 42 came inside the Clarke Belt of geosynchronous satellites. In May 2012, the estimated 5- to 10-metre-wide asteroid ranked #6 on the top 20 list of closest-approaches to Earth. There was no danger of a collision during the close approach. 2012 KT 42 passed roughly 0.01 AU (1,500,000 km; 930,000 mi) from Venus on 8 July 2012. [1]
2012 BX 34 is a small Aten asteroid that made one of the closest recorded asteroid close approaches of Earth on 27 January 2012. It passed within 0.0004371 AU (65,390 km ; 40,630 mi ) of Earth during its closest approach at 15:25 GMT.
An asteroid for which there is some possibility of a collision with Earth at a future date and which is above a certain size is classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA). Specifically, an asteroid is a PHA if its Earth minimum orbital intersection distance (MOID) is <0.05 AU and its absolute magnitude is 22 or brighter. [2]
The small asteroid, measuring about a metre across, did not pose a threat to life. It was the third space rock detected imminently before impacting the Earth this year, but only the tenth on record.
4.5 billion years ago, Earth experienced a cataclysmic rendezvous with a planet named Theia. Evidence of the impact is still buried deep within the Earth.
A 10 indicates that a collision is certain, and the impacting object is large enough to precipitate a global disaster. An object is assigned a 0 to 10 value based on its collision probability and the kinetic energy of the possible collision. The Torino scale is defined only for potential impacts less than 100 years in the future.