• Large asteroid 1997 NC1 makes its closest Earth pass in over four centuries – live watch

    ByTeo Blašković

    Asteroid (152637) 1997 NC1 will pass Earth at 6.67 lunar distances (about 0.017 AU), or 2.5 million km (1.6 million miles) above Earth’s surface, at 11:16 UTC on June 27, 2026. The object has an estimated diameter between 750–1 650 m (2 460–5 410 feet), making this an unusually close encounter for an object of this size. The Virtual Telescope Project will stream the flyby live at 23:00 UTC on June 26 and 27, offering real-time views as the asteroid reaches peak brightness.

  • Researchers identify South Atlantic fireball as likely interstellar meteor

    ByReet Kaur

    A fireball detected over the South Atlantic Ocean at 02:13:14 UTC on April 1, 2026, has emerged as a candidate interstellar meteor following an orbital analysis by Avi Loeb and Richard Cloete, who argue that its trajectory is inconsistent with an origin within the Solar System. The object, designated Polar-IM, is described by Loeb and Cloete as the strongest interstellar meteor candidate yet identified in the NASA Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) fireball database, with a confidence level above 99.9997% under the researchers’ uncertainty model.

  • Asteroid 2026 KU1 flew past Earth at 0.149 lunar distances

    ByTeo Blašković

    Asteroid 2026 KU1 flew past Earth at a distance of 0.149 lunar distances (about 0.00038 AU / 57 300 km / 35 600 miles) from the center of our planet at 22:11 UTC on May 22, 2026, becoming the 9th closest known asteroid flyby within 1 lunar distance recorded so far this year. Its closest point was about 50 900 km (31 600 miles) above Earth’s surface.

  • Asteroid 2026 JN4 impacts Earth over the Arafura Sea

    ByTeo Blašković

    A small asteroid designated 2026 JN4 entered Earth’s atmosphere between Australia and Papua New Guinea at 13:44 UTC on May 15, 2026, after ESA’s Meerkat and JPL’s Scout systems identified a high Earth-impact probability from a short observation arc. This is now the 12th predicted Earth impactor and the first since December 3, 2024. Meter-scale asteroids of this size and velocity usually disintegrate high in the atmosphere.