"Asteroid 2026 JH2 is now approaching Earth; the object, which is about 20 meters (66 feet) in diameter-comparable to Chicago's Cloud Gate sculpture-will pass by on May 18. Enthusiasts will be able to observe it using a telescope or during a live broadcast organized by Virtual Telescope. The object will pass at a minimum distance from Earth of about 57,000 miles-much closer than the moon, which is about four times farther away."
"There are tens of thousands of NEOs, which are generally of no particular concern; they are, of course, monitored, and some do have a (small) risk of impacting Earth in the next few years. According to New Scientist, 2026 JH2 is not among them, despite the widespread use of hyperbolic terms like "grazing" to describe how near it will come."
"Asteroid 2026 JH2 is technically an Apollo-type NEO, according to a classification system that takes into consideration the characteristics of the object's orbit. An Apollo-type object has a semi-major axis larger than Earth's (and therefore greater than one astronomical unit, the distance that separates us from the sun), and a perihelion (the shortest distance from the sun) of less than 1.017 astronomical units. (All asteroids and comets with a perihelion of less than 1.3 astronomical units are considered NEOs.)"
Asteroid 2026 JH2, about 20 meters in diameter, is approaching Earth and will pass on May 18. The minimum distance is about 57,000 miles, which is much closer than the Moon’s average distance. It is among the closest near-Earth objects expected to pass over the next few months. Tens of thousands of near-Earth objects exist, most posing no particular concern, though some have a small impact risk in the coming years. 2026 JH2 is not considered among those with an impact risk. It is classified as an Apollo-type near-Earth object based on orbital characteristics, including a semi-major axis larger than Earth’s and a perihelion under 1.017 astronomical units.
Read at WIRED
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