ASTEROID FLYBY0.8× MOON

Asteroid 2025 UK9 flies past Earth

Closest approach
Map: Asteroid 2025 UK9 flies past Earth

Asteroid 2025 UK9 will pass Earth on Saturday, October 31, 2026 at about 02:35 UTC, at 314,648 km (195,522 miles): 0.82 times the distance to the Moon, closer than the Moon itself. It is moving at 7.8 km/s (17,525 mph) relative to Earth and is about 3 to 6 meters (9 to 21 feet) across, judging by its brightness. NASA’s orbit puts it safely past: it poses no risk of hitting Earth on this pass.

Closest approachOct 31 02:35 UTC
Distance314,648 km · 195,522 mi
Lunar distances0.82
Speed7.8 km/s · 17,525 mph
Size (est.)3–6 m
Brightness (H)29.8
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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 365 days. Astronomers first spotted it on October 28, 2025.

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?

Flashes on the Moon. The Moon gets hit too: telescopes on Earth regularly catch tiny flashes as meteoroids strike its dark side.

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

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