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2012 KT42 is an Apollo near-Earth asteroid first observed by astronomer Alex R. Gibbs of the Mount Lemmon Survey with a 1.5-meter reflecting telescope on 28 May 2012.
| Designations | |
|---|---|
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 5 | |
| Aphelion | 2.4839 AU (371.59 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 0.71144 AU (106.430 Gm) |
| Periastron | 94.628° |
| 1.5977 AU (239.01 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.55470 |
| 2.02 yr (737.60 d) | |
| 261.31° | |
| 0° 29m 17.052s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.1932° |
| 69.515° | |
| 259.13° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.000968708 AU (144,916.7 km) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | ~4–10 metres[2] |
| 0.06057 h (3.634 min) | |
The asteroid had a close approach to the Earth on 29 May 2012, approaching to only ~8950 miles (~14,440 km) above the planet's surface. This means 2012 KT42 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 KT42 passed roughly 0.01 AU (1,500,000 km; 930,000 mi) from Venus on 8 July 2012.[1]
It is estimated that an impact would produce an upper atmosphere air burst equivalent to 11 kt TNT,[4] roughly equal to Hiroshima's Little Boy. The asteroid would be vaporized as these small impacts occur approximately once per year. A comparable-sized object caused the Sutter's Mill meteorite in California on 2 April 2012. It was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on 30 May 2012.[5]
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