ASTEROID FLYBY1.0× MOON

Asteroid 2026 UJ1 flew past Earth

Closest approach
Map: Asteroid 2026 UJ1 flew past Earth

Asteroid 2026 UJ1 passed Earth on Friday, October 23, 2026 at about 06:25 UTC, at 377,626 km (234,657 miles): 0.98 times the distance to the Moon, closer than the Moon itself. It was moving at 7.3 km/s (16,380 mph) relative to Earth and is about 14 to 30 meters (45 to 100 feet) across, judging by its brightness. NASA’s orbit puts it safely past: it posed no risk of hitting Earth on this pass.

Closest approachOct 23 06:25 UTC
Distance377,626 km · 234,657 mi
Lunar distances0.98
Speed7.3 km/s · 16,380 mph
Size (est.)14–30 m
Brightness (H)26.5
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Its orbit

It is an Apollo asteroid: its orbit is larger than Earth’s but crosses it. It circles the Sun once every 1.9 years. Astronomers first spotted it on October 22, 2026, just 1 day 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.

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

Did you know?

A lightweight belt. All the asteroids in the main belt together weigh only about 3 percent as much as Earth’s Moon.

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