Blue-whale-sized asteroid to skim past Earth Monday — watch it live
TL;DR
A near-Earth asteroid called 2026 JH2, up to 115 feet (35 meters) wide, will pass about 56,000 miles from Earth on Monday, May 18, around 6 p.m. Eastern time—closer than many satellites. Discovered May 10 at Mount Lemmon Observatory, it orbits the Sun roughly every 3.7 years. It should reach about magnitude 11.5, making it visible with a decent telescope; a livestream from the Virtual Telescope Project will let viewers watch the flyby without special gear, and there is no chance of impact.
- Scientists say a newly discovered, blue-whale-size asteroid will fly super close to Earth on Monday Live Science
- This asteroid is as big as a basketball court and it's about to skim past Earth, even closer than the Moon BBC Sky at Night Magazine
- Asteroid 2026 JH2 Is About to Fly Right Past Earth—Relatively Speaking WIRED
- Newly-discovered asteroid to pass closer to Earth than the moon next week AL.com
- Asteroid discovered days ago to make close Earth flyby on Monday FOX Weather
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