A recently discovered asteroid, 2026 JH2, will fly very close to Earth this week on May 18, four times closer.
The asteroid will pass at a minimum distance of 90,000 kilometers from Earth, closer than some high-orbiting satellites and even much closer than the moon.
Speaking of its size, 2026 JHA has a diameter of 65 feet, which is almost the size of Chicago’s Cloud Gate.
The Virtual Telescope Project will livestream the event on Monday, May 18 beginning at 3:45 PM EDT. But some space enthusiasts can see the asteroid with the help of a telescope.
Live streaming will allow viewers around the world to view the asteroid just hours before its closest approach, when it is expected to reach maximum brightness.
The asteroid was discovered by astronomers from the Mount Lemmon Survey in Tucson, Arizona and the Farpoint Observatory in Eskridge, Kansas. Later it was added to the Minor Planet Center database.
2026 JH2 is classified as an Apollo-class asteroid and belongs to a group of space rocks whose orbits intersect Earth’s trajectory around the Sun.
The asteroid travels along an elongated path. The path extends from Earth’s environment to the outer solar system. It is not that far from Jupiter’s orbit.
Astronomers have been keeping a constant eye on JH2 in 2026 due to its proximity to Earth. Despite being the closest, scientists insist the asteroid poses no risk of hitting Earth.
Such closest flybys are not uncommon. Such incidents happen every year, for example in 2025 a smaller asteroid 2025 TF passed within a radius of only 420 kilometers from the Earth’s surface.
