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orleans

(37,373 posts)
Mon May 18, 2026, 03:17 PM May 18

An asteroid discovered days ago will narrowly miss Earth (today, just before 6pm eastern time) uh-oh! [View all]

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/18/science/asteroid-earth-close-pass



An asteroid discovered days ago will narrowly miss Earth

An asteroid roughly the size of one to two school buses will fly by Earth Monday, coming as close as 91,593 kilometers (56,913 miles), according to the European Space Agency — equivalent to about one quarter of the distance between Earth and the moon.

Astronomers at the Mount Lemmon Survey in Tucson, Arizona, discovered the asteroid on May 10 and named it 2026JH2. The object belongs to a class of asteroids called Apollo, which orbit the sun on trajectories that intersect with Earth’s own orbit around the sun.

At its closest pass, 2026JH2 will be about 24% of the average distance between Earth and the moon, and about two and a half times the distance at which hundreds of geosynchronous satellites orbit, providing services such as telecommunications and weather forecasts. The close pass is expected to occur on Monday just before 6 p.m. ET, according to NASA’s JPL Small-Body Database.

more at link



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I wonder what kind of damage this asteroid would cause if it hit the Earth... wcmagumba May 18 #1
It is estimated an asteroid the size of a house (larger than this one) sarisataka May 18 #4
LOL popsdenver May 18 #13
That meteor was 6-9 miles. That's a lot bigger than 50-150 feet. EdmondDantes_ May 18 #24
Not nearly as much misanthrope May 18 #21
Yeah, about Hiroshima Metaphorical May 18 #6
it wd take out a lot of satellites, i presume. mopinko May 18 #11
Oh thank god dweller May 18 #2
Disappointed bustedbiscuits May 18 #3
Yeah, same. EuterpeThelo May 18 #22
Thanks for the heads up! Will dust off my hard hat! Attilatheblond May 18 #5
Let it go by. Norrrm May 18 #7
Damn! I was going to use that for Orrex tomorrow. no_hypocrisy May 18 #8
Don't look up! betsuni May 18 #9
I see what you did there Brother Buzz May 18 #17
Too small to see, though. MineralMan May 18 #10
Unless it's not a miss and you're in the trajectory. paleotn May 18 #18
Exactly why RoseTrellis May 18 #25
Maralago James48 May 18 #12
We're all gonna die!!! Martin Eden May 18 #14
Funny thing, when you're young, you don't think much about Father Time. paleotn May 18 #16
Time, by Pink Floyd Martin Eden May 18 #23
That they do. paleotn May 18 #27
Close shave. 57K miles may seem like a lot..... paleotn May 18 #15
The skywatchers should be able... BH liberal May 18 #19
That's three minutes from now Uncle Joe May 18 #20
you're welcome. i heard joan esposito (on wcpt) mention this so i googled and found a couple articles. orleans May 18 #28
Tell Trump it is made of priceless rare minerals. Irish_Dem May 18 #26
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