The Asteroids, also known as Minor Planets, are small "planets" orbiting the Sun, mostly between Mars and Jupiter. The largest, Ceres, has a diameter of about 933 km, most are much smaller. Over one hundred thousand have had their orbits described, but only a few of the larger ones are bright enough to be picked up in binoculars. Mostly this will be only for a month or two either side of opposition, when the asteroid is on the opposite side of the Earth to the Sun. It is then at its closest to the Earth and is also fully lit by the Sun as seen from the Earth.

Details are given of the asteroids which reach an opposition magnitude 9.0 or brighter during 2012. At this magnitude an object should be visible in 50 mm aperture binoculars from a dark site, with clear skies and without too much Moon light.

For each asteroid charts are included showing its path. The charts show stars to magnitude 9.5 and each has a circle on it representing a 5° field. This is a typical field for 8x50 or 10x50 binoculars. In addition there is a table showing the position (right ascension and declination) of the asteroid at 10 day intervals while it is at magnitude 9.5 or brighter.

Charts are for the southern hemisphere with south at the top and east to the right. Anyone using a chart in the northern hemisphere would need to turn it upside down. The charts would give a "true" view when the asteroid is due north. When to the east or west, the sky would appear to be rotated, clockwise if to the east and anticlockwise when to the west, as seen from the southern hemisphere.

The table below lists all asteroids which meet the criterion of magnitude at their opposition in 2012. The magnitude given is that at opposition, which is usually when the asteroid is at its brightest.

For further details of asteroids visit the JPL small-body database browser.