The asteroid called 2026JH2, discovered just days ago by the Mount Lemmon Observatory in Arizona, is preparing to fly about 56,000 miles (91,000 kilometers) past Earth this evening.
This Apollo-class celestial body, whose path intersects Earth's orbit, will be about two and a half times as safe as telecommunications and weather satellites.
Experts reported that although the distance appears very small on a cosmic scale, the asteroid poses no threat to our planet and will continue its path safely without entering our atmosphere.
The exact size of the celestial body that broke away from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and was thrown close to Earth has not yet been clearly measured. The asteroid's diameter is estimated to be 15 to 30 meters because optical telescopes can only detect reflected light.
There are uncertainties in its orbit
Scientists stressed that a celestial body of this size could cause serious damage if it enters the atmosphere, stressing that 2026JH2 poses no risk as it passes tangentially, but its future route will be closely monitored due to the uncertainties in its orbit.
Experts say such close-flights actually occur several times a year and that celestial objects of similar size can only be detected thanks to sensitive scanning technologies developed in recent years.
Although immediate radar data for this passage cannot be acquired due to some technical glitches in existing radar systems, the Italy-based Virtual Telescope Project will broadcast the moment of the asteroid's passage live on the Internet.
Astronomers remind that only one percent of asteroids of this size have been discovered near Earth so far, and point out that space agencies have increased their budgets to detect potential threats in advance.
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