An asteroid designated 2026JH2 will fly past Earth at a distance of 90,917 kilometres on 18 May. The object measures between 16 and 36 metres across and carries enough mass to damage a city if it struck, though experts confirm no impact risk for at least a century.
The asteroid, discovered only this week by observers at the Mount Lemmon Survey in Arizona and the Farpoint Observatory in Kansas, will make its closest approach at 9.38pm UTC. Mark Norris of the University of Lancashire noted that in astronomical terms the flyby counts as close without collision. It will appear briefly in northern skies and prove difficult to track even from the south due to its speed of 9.17 kilometres per second relative to Earth.
