Asteroid flybys
Asteroid 2026 UA1: when it passes Earth, and how close
Asteroid 2026 UA1 should pass Earth on October 23, 2026, at about 17:31 UTC, 0.58 Moon distances away (about 222,000 km, or 138,000 miles, from Earth's center), by NASA/JPL's calculation. That's closer than the Moon. It's about 7 to 16 meters (23 to 52 feet) across, judged from its brightness. Its next flyby that close is expected in 2038.
Next flyby
Oct 23, 2026
About 17:31 UTC, to within a minute
How close, in Moon distances
0.58
222,000 km (138,000 miles)
How big
7 to 16 meters
Likely width, from its brightness
How sure is NASA?
JPL knows its orbit well enough to put this flyby at 0.58 Moon distances from Earth's center, and its timing to within a minute. It passes at about 9.5 km a second (21,300 miles an hour) relative to Earth.
Every flyby within 10 Moon distances, 1900 to 2200
Oldest first, in JPL's time (within about a minute of UTC). The range is JPL's, allowing for uncertainty in the orbit.
| Date | Moon distances | Range | Km from Earth's center |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.11 | 0.44–20.87 | 811,126 | |
| 0.58 | 0.58–0.58 | 221,538 | |
| 10 | 6.72–19.1 | 3,842,685 | |
| 9.75 | 8.39–11.12 | 3,749,195 | |
| 2.14 | 1.13–25.69 | 821,042 |
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Source and notes
NASA/JPL Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), SBDB Close Approach Data (Public domain (NASA data); credit NASA/JPL-Caltech CNEOS), as of October 22, 2026. Its orbit and details are in JPL's Small-Body Database.
One Moon distance is the Moon's average distance from Earth, about 384,400 km (238,900 miles); distances are measured from Earth's center. JPL works out each flyby from the asteroid's orbit, so flybys before it was found are calculated backward, and its range for a distance shows how sure it is. Orbits are refined as asteroids are observed, so the numbers can change. When nobody has measured an asteroid, its size is estimated from its brightness, assuming it reflects between 5% and 25% of the sunlight that hits it, as NASA does. Asteroids with any known chance of hitting Earth in the next century are on NASA's Sentry list.