1999 VK12
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	7 Jan 2026	27.9	1.897 AU	2.107 AU	23h31m	-07°34'	64.1°	27.8°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of 1999 VK12 are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.7767163
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.2070168
            i (Inclination)                 : 9.56124
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 46.52813
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 105.30048
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 310.06813
            Epoch                           : 2025 Nov 21

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : -27.96616
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 9.21933
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.28            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-01-07 00:00 UT   23 31 11.9   -07 34 31     2.107    1.897   64.1   27.8    69   27.9 
2026-01-07 15:01 UT   23 31 47.4   -07 28 14     2.108    1.890   63.7   27.8    69   27.9 
2026-01-08 00:00 UT   23 32 08.9   -07 24 26     2.109    1.886   63.4   27.8    69   27.9 
2026-01-09 00:00 UT   23 33 07.2   -07 14 14     2.112    1.876   62.7   27.8    69   27.9 
2026-01-10 00:00 UT   23 34 06.7   -07 03 54     2.114    1.866   62.0   27.7    69   27.9 
2026-01-11 00:00 UT   23 35 07.5   -06 53 27     2.116    1.855   61.2   27.7    69   27.9 
2026-01-12 00:00 UT   23 36 09.5   -06 42 53     2.118    1.845   60.5   27.7    69   27.9 
2026-01-13 00:00 UT   23 37 12.7   -06 32 11     2.120    1.834   59.8   27.6    69   27.8 
2026-01-14 00:00 UT   23 38 17.1   -06 21 22     2.121    1.824   59.1   27.6    69   27.8 
2026-01-15 00:00 UT   23 39 22.8   -06 10 26     2.123    1.813   58.4   27.5    69   27.8 
2026-01-16 00:00 UT   23 40 29.6   -05 59 22     2.124    1.802   57.7   27.5    69   27.8 
2026-01-17 00:00 UT   23 41 37.7   -05 48 10     2.125    1.792   57.0   27.4    69   27.8 
2026-01-18 00:00 UT   23 42 46.9   -05 36 52     2.126    1.781   56.4   27.4    69   27.8 
2026-01-19 00:00 UT   23 43 57.4   -05 25 26     2.127    1.770   55.7   27.3    69   27.8 
2026-01-20 00:00 UT   23 45 09.0   -05 13 52     2.128    1.759   55.0   27.3    69   27.8 
2026-01-21 00:00 UT   23 46 21.8   -05 02 11     2.128    1.748   54.4   27.2    69   27.7 
2026-01-22 00:00 UT   23 47 35.8   -04 50 23     2.128    1.737   53.7   27.2    69   27.7 
2026-01-23 00:00 UT   23 48 50.9   -04 38 27     2.128    1.726   53.0   27.1    69   27.7 
2026-01-24 00:00 UT   23 50 07.2   -04 26 23     2.128    1.715   52.4   27.0    69   27.7 
2026-01-25 00:00 UT   23 51 24.7   -04 14 13     2.128    1.704   51.8   27.0    69   27.7 
2026-01-26 00:00 UT   23 52 43.3   -04 01 55     2.128    1.693   51.1   26.9    69   27.7 
2026-01-27 00:00 UT   23 54 03.0   -03 49 29     2.127    1.682   50.5   26.9    69   27.6 
2026-01-28 00:00 UT   23 55 24.0   -03 36 56     2.126    1.670   49.9   26.8    69   27.6 
2026-01-29 00:00 UT   23 56 46.0   -03 24 15     2.125    1.659   49.2   26.7    69   27.6 
2026-01-30 00:00 UT   23 58 09.2   -03 11 27     2.124    1.648   48.6   26.7    69   27.6 
2026-01-31 00:00 UT   23 59 33.6   -02 58 31     2.122    1.636   48.0   26.6    69   27.6 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.