ASTEROID FLYBY0.06× MOON

Asteroid 2026 SZ2 flew past Earth

Closest approach
Map: Asteroid 2026 SZ2 flew past Earth

Asteroid 2026 SZ2 passed Earth on Sunday, September 20, 2026 at about 21:19 UTC, at 21,210 km (13,180 miles): 0.06 times the distance to the Moon, closer than the Moon itself. It was moving at 8.0 km/s (17,872 mph) relative to Earth and is about 2 to 5 meters (7 to 15 feet) across, judging by its brightness. NASA’s orbit puts it safely past: it posed no risk of hitting Earth on this pass.

Closest approachSep 20 21:19 UTC
Distance21,210 km · 13,180 mi
Lunar distances0.06
Speed8.0 km/s · 17,872 mph
Size (est.)2–5 m
Brightness (H)30.6
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Its orbit

It is an Aten asteroid: its orbit is smaller than Earth’s but crosses it. It circles the Sun once every 320 days. Astronomers first spotted it on September 20, 2026, just 0 days before its closest approach.

How often does this happen?

Small asteroids pass between Earth and the Moon every few weeks; most are only a few meters to tens of meters across and are found days before, or even after, they fly by. For scale, the rock that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013 was about 18 meters across.

Did you know?

Close calls are common. Small asteroids pass between Earth and the Moon several times a month. Most are only a few meters across.

Data: NASA JPL Small-Body Database and CNEOS close approaches. Size assumes a reflectivity between 5 and 25 percent.

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