Gianluca Masi Plans Asteroids Flyby Broadcast for 56,000-Mile Approach
Astronomers will track asteroids closely on Monday, May 16, when 2026 JH2 passes within 56,000 miles of Earth. The near-Earth object poses no danger, and Gianluca Masi said the Virtual Telescope Project plans a live broadcast from Italy at 3:45 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 18.
2026 JH2 Flyby Distance
2026 JH2 is expected to come within 56,000 miles, or about a quarter of the average Earth-moon distance. That puts it closer than some satellites orbiting Earth. Astronomers at the Mount Lemmon Survey in Tucson, Arizona, and Farpoint Observatory in Eskridge, Kansas, discovered the asteroid, and it was recently added to the Minor Planet Center’s database.
Scientists have classified 2026 JH2 as an Apollo-class near-Earth object, meaning its orbit crosses Earth’s path around the sun. The asteroid follows an elongated path that stretches from Earth’s neighborhood toward the outer solar system.
Gianluca Masi Broadcast
Masi, astronomer and leader of the Virtual Telescope Project, said the livestream is meant to let viewers around the world observe the asteroid only hours before its closest approach. The broadcast begins from Italy at 3:45 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 18, after the flyby itself on Monday, May 16.
Observations indicate 2026 JH2 could brighten from magnitude 21.3 on 12 May to about magnitude 12.8 by 19 May. The asteroid may be visible through modest amateur telescopes under dark skies, giving observers a narrow window to follow its changing brightness.
Apophis And Tunguska
The close approach comes as another near-Earth asteroid, 99942 Apophis, is set to pass just 20,000 miles from Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029. Discovered in 2004, Apophis is 1,230 feet wide, and astronomers have ruled out any collision risk for at least the next century.
Scientists say that encounter will give them a chance to study how Earth’s gravity could alter an asteroid’s rotation and surface. The broader concern around near-Earth objects is not abstract: on Jun. 30, 1908, an asteroid about 330 feet in diameter exploded above Siberia in Russia, destroying 770 square miles of forest. The United Nations-sanctioned Asteroid Day marks that date.
