List of asteroid close approaches to Earth in 2012
| Asteroids which came closer to Earth than the Moon in 2012 by time of discovery |
List of asteroid close approaches to Earth in 2012 is a listing of asteroids noted for their close approach to planet Earth
Timeline of close approaches less than one lunar distance from Earth in 2012
A list of known near-Earth asteroid close approaches less than 1 lunar distance from Earth in 2012, based on the close approach database of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.The CNEOS database of close approaches lists some close approaches a full orbit or more before the discovery of the object, derived by orbit calculation. The list below only includes close approaches that are evidenced by observations, thus the pre-discovery close approaches would only be included if the object was found by precovery, but there was no such close approach in 2012.
This list and the relevant databases do not consider impacts as close approaches, thus this list does not include any of the objects that collided with Earth's atmosphere in 2012, none of which were discovered in advance, but were observed visually or recorded by sensors designed to detect detonation of nuclear devices.
| Date of closest approach | Date discovered | Object | Nominal geocentric distance | Size | Closer approach to Moon | Refs | |
| 2012-01-02 | 2011-12-31 | 2.9–6.5 | 29.8 | ||||
| 2012-01-20 | 2012-01-18 | 1.7–3.8 | 31.0 | Yes | |||
| 2012-01-27 | 2012-01-25 | 8–18 | 27.6 | ||||
| 2012-02-20 | 2012-02-22 | 7.3–16 | 27.8 | ||||
| 2012-03-01 | 2012-03-02 | 4.6–10 | 28.8 | ||||
| 2012-03-26 | 2012-03-24 | 7–16 | 27.9 | ||||
| 2012-03-26 | 2012-03-25 | 5 | 30.2 | ||||
| 2012-04-01 | 2012-03-13 | 37–82 | 24.3 | ||||
| 2012-04-19 | 2012-04-21 | 6.1–14 | 28.2 | ||||
| 2012-05-13 | 2012-05-12 | 2012 JU | 5.8–13 | 28.3 | |||
| 2012-05-17 | 2012-05-16 | 2012 KA | 5.2–12 | 28.6 | |||
| 2012-05-19 | 2010-05-23 | 19–43 | 25.7 | ||||
| 2012-05-28 | 2012-05-23 | 14–30 | 26.4 | ||||
| 2012-05-29 | 2012-05-28 | 4.2–9.4 | 29.0 | ||||
| 2012-06-21 | 2012-06-23 | 1125 | 26.9 | Yes | |||
| 2012-10-07 | 2012-10-05 | 2012 TV | 24–53 | 25.2 | |||
| 2012-10-09 | 2012-10-10 | 13–28 | 26.6 | ||||
| 2012-10-12 | 2012-10-04 | 12–27 | 26.7 | ||||
| 2012-11-12 | 2012-11-14 | 9.2–21 | 27.3 | ||||
| 2012-11-14 | 2012-11-12 | 5.3–12 | 28.5 | ||||
| 2012-12-11 | 2012-12-09 | 22–49 | 25.4 | ||||
| 2012-12-14 | 2012-12-11 | 2–3 | 29.9 | ||||
| 2012-12-15 | 2012-12-13 | 7.3–16 | 27.8 |
Warning times by size
This sub-section visualises the warning times of the close approaches listed in the above table, depending on the size of the asteroid. The sizes of the charts show the relative sizes of the asteroids to scale. For comparison, the approximate size of a person is also shown. This is based the absolute magnitude of each asteroid, an approximate measure of size based on brightness.Absolute magnitude H ≥ 30
Absolute magnitude 30 > H ≥ 29
Absolute magnitude 29 > H ≥ 28
Absolute magnitude 28 > H ≥ 27
Absolute magnitude 27 > H ≥ 26
Absolute magnitude 26 > H ≥ 25
'''Absolute magnitude 25 > H '''