Close Approach of 2026 JH2

[PMSchu]

CNEOS predicts that the small Apollo class NEA, 2026 JH2 will make a close approach on 2026-May-18 21:23±06:16 UT at a distance of 0.00061 AU moving with V Relative=9.17 km/sec, H=26.1, diameter 16 m - 35 m and 'Rarity'=2. As of May 11 there was a 2 day observation arc, the Condition Code=9 and the Earth MOID=0.000602842  AU. The solution date was 2026-May-11 22:12:02 PDT. The initial reported observation was by Mt. Lemmon Survey on 2026-05-10.

Using orbital elements downloaded from the MPC for the epoch 2026 May 12 0000 UT, ST4.1.11.20 Visual Pro predicts that 2026 JH2 will reach a peak brightness of 11.6 magnitude on may 18 at 1800 EDT at a distance of 96.7k km traveling through Lupus at 18.4"/second in daylight and below the horizon in Columbus, Ohio. This NEA should look best from the southern hemisphere.

The orbit for this NEA is still being refined. I'll post an update in a few days. This object is one to keep an eye on, if it will be visible from your location.

Good hunting,

Phil S.

[PMSchu]

Here's the update for the close approach of the small, Apollo class NEA 2026 JH2 on 2026-May-18 22:00±00:05 UT at a distance of 0.00061 AU moving with V Relative=9.14 km/sec, H=26.3 magnitude, diameter 15 m - 33 m and 'Rarity'=2. As of 2026 May 16, there is a 5 day observation arc, the Condition Code=7 and the Earth MOID=0.000734381 AU. The solution date was 2026-May-16 06:48:56 PDT. The initial reported observation was by Mt. Lemmon Survey on 2026-05-10. This object is too small to make the MPC's list of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) that you can download using SkyTools.

Using MPC's orbital elements for the epoch 2026 May 16 0000 UT, ST4.1.11.20 Visual Pro predicts that this MP will reach a peak brightness of 11.6 magnitude on May 18 at 1800 EDT when it will be traveling through Lupus at 18.3"/second in daylight and below the horizon in Columbus, Ohio. This is also the time of close approach (to the nearest hour). This object will be best observed from the southern hemisphere, weather permitting.

Here's the object Info dialog for 2026 JH2:    

Since this MP will pass very close and the orbit is still being refined, observers should follow the instructions in the "Important Threads" post at the top of this forum section to download the latest orbital elements from JPL's HORIZONS website for their observing time. This should be quite a spectacular event for those lucky enough to see it.

Good hunting,

Phil S.

[PMSchu]

Here's an article about the close approach of 2026 JH2:

https://www.discovermagazine.com/recentl...wtab-en-us

They list the time of close approach at 21:23 UT (1923 EDT), but that's from an older orbit calculation. The most recently calculated time is  2026-May-18 22:00 ± 00:05 UT (1800 EDT).

Phil S.

[PMSchu]

Here's a link to a website where you can watch the close approach of 2026 JH2:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/watc...00537.html

This is very cool,

Phil S.

EDIT: I watched the livestream. It was very interesting. There were some clouds, but the asteroid was visible even through the thin clouds.