Newly discovered asteroid 2018 KY2 flew past Earth at 0.78 LD

A newly discovered asteroid designated 2018 KY2 flew past Earth at 0.78 LD / 0.00200 AU (299 125 km / 185 911 miles) on May 26, 2018, two days after it was discovered. This is 34^th known asteroid to flyby Earth within 1 lunar distance since the start of the year and 3^rd this month.

2018 KY2 belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids and has an estimated diameter between 10 and 22 m (33 – 72 feet). It was first observed at Catalina Sky Survey on May 24.

The object flew past us at a speed (relative to the Earth) of 12.19 km/s at 05:25 UTC on May 26.

[ Ephemeris | Orbit Diagram | Orbital Elements | Mission Design | Physical Parameters | Close-Approach Data ]

Reference:

Asteroid 2018 KY2 at Minor Planet Center; at CNEOS

Featured image: The green line indicates the object's apparent motion relative to the Earth, and the bright green marks are the object's location at approximately one-hour intervals. The Moon's orbit is grey. The blue arrow points in the direction of Earth's motion and the yellow arrow points toward the Sun. Credit: Minor Planet Center.