A school bus-sized asteroid will pass by Earth on Monday, getting as close as about 91,593 kilometers (56,913 miles) away. That’s roughly one-quarter the distance between Earth and the moon, according to the European Space Agency.
Astronomers discovered this asteroid, named 2026JH2, on May 10 at the Mount Lemmon Survey in Tucson, Arizona. It belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids, which have orbits that come near Earth.
This close encounter will happen just before 6 p.m. ET. Even though the distance sounds risky, 2026JH2 poses no danger, says Richard Binzel, a planetary sciences professor at MIT. He notes that similar-sized objects pass between Earth and the moon weekly.
“2026JH2 will pass safely by the Earth,” Binzel reassured, pointing out that our ability to track these objects has improved recently. Many small asteroids used to go unnoticed before improved surveys were developed.
Most asteroids like 2026JH2 come from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Binzel explains that gravitational forces, particularly from Jupiter, can push these objects into Earth’s vicinity. Thousands of near-Earth asteroids are already known to science.
While astronomers can see 2026JH2, they’re not certain about its exact size. Patrick Michel, an astrophysicist from France, says they primarily measure how much light it reflects. “Without infrared observations, we can’t accurately determine its size,” he explained. Using just visible light can be misleading since two different objects can appear the same in brightness but differ in size and color.
Current estimates suggest 2026JH2 could be between 15 and 30 meters (49 to 98 feet) wide. For context, if it were on the smaller end, it would resemble a bolide—like the one that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013. However, 2026JH2 will not enter Earth’s atmosphere, so no explosion risk exists.
Despite the close approach, observing 2026JH2 will be challenging. It’ll be too faint for the naked eye—about 100 times dimmer—while a significantly larger asteroid named Apophis is expected to approach even closer in 2029, at 32,000 kilometers (19,883 miles). Although Apophis is much larger, Michel highlighted they are not worried about it, describing the excitement of witnessing such an event.
Astronomers currently observe only about 1% of near-Earth asteroids in the size range of 2026JH2. Jean-Luc Margot from UCLA noted this is why 2026JH2 was discovered just days before it approached Earth. However, experts understand the need for better tracking of these objects and are pushing for increased funding for surveys to improve our knowledge of potentially hazardous asteroids.
For those interested in the close pass, the Virtual Telescope Project will livestream the encounter starting at 3:45 p.m. ET. Despite the challenges posed by current limitations in radar capabilities for tracking asteroids, scientists continue to make strides in monitoring these cosmic objects.
