Potentially Hazardous Asteroid to Safely Pass Earth Tonight

An asteroid designated 2019 NY2, classified as potentially hazardous due to its size and orbit, will pass Earth on August 10, 2026. Scientists assure that the celestial body will safely pass our planet at a distance of about 2.5 million kilometers, posing no threat.

The classification "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" (PHA) applies to asteroids whose orbits intersect Earth's or pass within 0.05 astronomical units (approximately 7.5 million kilometers) and measure over 140-150 meters in diameter. Asteroid 2019 NY2 fits these criteria, with an estimated diameter between 150 and 330 meters.

The close approach is scheduled for August 10, 2026, at 00:20 Universal Time. The asteroid will travel at a speed of 9.6 km/s. This flyby will be its closest in the next 150 years. The object's orbital period around the Sun is 845 days (2.3 years), and it orbits in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, belonging to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids.

NASA had initially planned to use this close approach for radar studies, utilizing the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex's 70-meter antenna. However, this plan was ultimately abandoned because the Green Bank Observatory's 100-meter antenna, needed for receiving the radar echo, will not be available during that time.