Newly Discovered Asteroid to Make Close Pass by Earth
The Apollo-class asteroid is estimated at 50 to 115 feet wide and will offer astronomers a rare close-range observation opportunity.
- On Monday, May 18, newly discovered asteroid 2026 JH2 will safely pass Earth at about 56,000 miles, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory classifying it as an Apollo-class near-Earth object posing no collision risk.
- Astronomers at the Mount Lemmon Survey in Arizona and Farpoint Observatory in Kansas recently discovered 2026 JH2, noting that such small asteroids are notoriously difficult to track due to limited light reflection.
- Scientists estimate the asteroid measures between 50 and 115 feet, comparable to the object behind Russia's 2013 Chelyabinsk airburst, and will pass within 24% of the average lunar distance.
- The Virtual Telescope Project will broadcast the flyby live online at 21:45 UTC on May 18, while amateur astronomers may observe the asteroid through modest telescopes as it brightens before closest approach.
- This flyby precedes the 2029 encounter with near-Earth asteroid Apophis, which will pass just 20,000 miles from Earth as improved observation capabilities continue expanding the database of smaller bodies.
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43 Articles
Asteroid 2026 JH2 is not long known – and will come much closer to Earth on Monday for a short time than the moon.
A newly discovered asteroid passes the Earth on Monday at an unusually short distance. Are there any indications of an impact?
Newly-discovered asteroid to pass closer to Earth than the moon next week
While there is no evidence that it will hit the Earth, a recently discovered asteroid will soon pass within 56,000 miles of our planet, according to ABC News. That distance is smaller than the distance between the moon and the Earth, which is an average of 238,855 miles.
Asteroid to miss Earth by a quarter of the length from us to the moon
Asteroid 2026JH2 will zoom past Earth at a distance of only 90,000 kilometres next week. It has enough mass to wipe out a city, but simulations suggest there is no chance of an impact for at least the next century
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