The National Science Foundation-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory discovered over 2,100 never-before-seen asteroids in our solar system, including seven near-Earth asteroids. One asteroid, 2026 JH2, will pass Earth safely at a distance of 56,000 miles on May 18.
from SUN 11:00 AM MST until SUN 11:00 PM MST, Eastern Pima-Southeastern Pinal-Santa Cruz-Western Cochise, Northern Graham-Northern Greenlee-White and Gila Mountains, Southern Graham-Central and Eastern Cochise-Southern Greenlee-Lower Elevations of the San Carlos Apache Nation in Graham County, Southern Gila County/Tonto National Forest Foothillsfrom SUN 11:00 AM MST until SUN 8:00 PM MST, White Mountains, Eastern Mogollon Rim, Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County, Little Colorado River Valley in Coconino County, Marble and Glen Canyons, Grand Canyon Country, Kaibab Plateau, Little Colorado River Valley in Apache Countyfrom SUN 12:00 PM MDT until SUN 9:00 PM MDT, Chinle Valley, Northeast Plateaus and Mesas South of Hwy 264, Northeast Plateaus and Mesas Hwy 264 Northward, Black Mesa Area, Chuska Mountains and Defiance Plateaufrom SUN 11:00 AM MST until SUN 8:00 PM MST, Little Colorado River Valley in Coconino County, Eastern Mogollon Rim, Coconino Plateau, Little Colorado River Valley in Apache County, Kaibab Plateau, Little Colorado River Valley in Navajo County, White Mountains, Yavapai County Mountains, Grand Canyon Country, Oak Creek and Sycamore Canyons, Western Mogollon Rimfrom SUN 12:00 PM MDT until SUN 9:00 PM MDT, Chuska Mountains and Defiance Plateau, Black Mesa Area, Northeast Plateaus and Mesas South of Hwy 264, Northeast Plateaus and Mesas Hwy 264 NorthwardIn about 10 hours of observations, NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory discovered 2,104 never-before-seen asteroids in our solar system, including seven near-Earth asteroids.
Asteroid 2026 JH2 will safely pass Earth at about 56,000 miles away—closer than the moon but posing no impact risk. The asteroid will be difficult to see from the U.S. but may be observable via a livestream on May 18. Discovered in early May and measuring up to 250 feet wide, it won’t return until 2030 and will be much farther away then.
A newly discovered asteroid is going to pass by Earth in the coming days, but don’t worry, there’s no risk of impact.
"This is much closer than the moon, but about twice as far as GPS satellites," Carson Fuls, director of theOur European friends on the other side of the pond, however, will actually be in the best spot and time to observe 2026 JH2, Fuls said. "Since it is coming so close, it will appear to move very quickly across the sky towards the direction of the sunrise.
After its close approach, it will move into the daylight sky and not be visible from the ground," Fuls explained.
"The asteroid will be fairly bright and reach magnitude 11.8. However, this is still over 100x fainter than a human eye can see even with perfectly dark conditions, so a backyard telescope would be required to see it," Fuls added. What you can do:Asteroid 2026 JH2 was first observed by several observatories between May 9 - May 10. Astronomers with the Catalina Sky Survey saw the asteroid while operating its Mt.
Lemmon Survey telescope on May 9, according to Fuls.
"This particular night, Joshua Hogan and Alessandra Serreno were on-site operating the telescope and making discoveries," Fuls said. Unfortunately, the asteroid won’t be visiting Earth again until 2030, and at that time, it will be much farther away. Information for this article was taken from The Virtual Telescope Project website, emailed correspondence with the Catalina Sky Survey and the American Astronomical Society. This story was reported from San Jose.
Asteroid Discovery Near-Earth Pass Passing Passes Safely Observation View Telescope
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