367943 Duende (provisional designation 2012 DA14) is a micro-asteroid and a near-Earth object of the Aten and Atira group, approximately 30 meters (98 ft) in diameter.

Duende's passage also coincided with the completely unrelated Chelyabinsk meteor, which entered Earth's atmosphere above Russia just 16 hours earlier.

During the close approach, an observational campaign involving 5 different telescopes in 4 different observatories was carried on in order to get information on the physical properties of this NEO.

This lightcurve is double-peak and presents large variations in magnitude, implying a very elongated object, which is compatible with radar observations.

[5] The amplitude of the lightcurve yields an axial ratio that, together with the long axis of 40 m inferred from the radar images by Goldstone, results in an equivalent diameter of 18 m, much smaller than the estimations before the close-approach.

The rotational period was precisely determined from the lightcurve obtaining a value of 8.95±0.08 h.[7] This value is confirmed with an analysis of all the photometry of this objects reported to the Minor Planet Center.

Using data pre and post close approach the authors find that the object suffered a spin-up during the event that decreased the rotational period from 9.8±0.1 down to 8.8±0.1 hours, which is compatible with the more accurate value estimated from the light-curve.

[9] The close approach to Earth reduced the orbital period of Duende from 368 days to 317 days, Its aphelion was reduced from 1.110 to 0.9917 AU, leaving it almost entirely inside Earth's orbit and perturbing it from the Apollo class to the Aten class of near-Earth asteroids.

[citation needed] This minor planet was named after the duende, fairy- or goblin-like mythological creatures from Iberian, Latin American and Filipino folklore.