Asteroid Tracker

Live NASA Data

NASA asteroid
tracker

Live close approach data from NASA's NeoWs API, refreshed every 30 minutes. The table below shows every upcoming asteroid flyby currently in the NASA catalogue - miss distances, estimated sizes, velocities, and hazard classifications.

Next close approach in

--
days
--
hours
--
minutes
--
seconds

Next five approaches

The nearest upcoming flybys, sorted by date. Data from NASA NeoWs. Updated every 30 minutes.

All upcoming approaches

Full sortable table from the NASA NeoWs feed. Filter by hazard status, sort by date, distance, or size, and switch between lunar distances, kilometres, and AU.

Range:
Sort:
Unit:
Name Date Est. Diameter Miss Distance(LD) Velocity Hazard

Reading the data

Miss distance in this tracker is given in lunar distances (LD). One LD equals 384,400 km - the average Earth-Moon distance. An asteroid at 1 LD passes at the same distance as the Moon. At 10 LD, it is ten times farther. Raw kilometres are shown alongside for reference.

Estimated diameter is given as a range because size calculations depend on the assumed surface reflectivity (albedo). Dark asteroids must be larger to appear equally bright as paler ones. Until an asteroid is observed by radar or imaged by a spacecraft, the size estimate carries inherent uncertainty.

Velocity is the asteroid's speed relative to Earth at closest approach. Most near-Earth asteroids pass at between 20,000 and 100,000 km/h. The encounter typically lasts a few hours at most.

The amber "Hazardous" badge marks potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs) - objects 140 metres or larger with orbits passing within 0.05 AU of Earth's orbital path. This is a monitoring classification. None of the objects shown carry a meaningful impact probability.

How NASA tracks asteroids

Ground-based survey telescopes photograph the same region of sky several times in one night. Software compares frames and flags objects that have moved between exposures. That movement is the signature of a nearby solar system body.

Confirmed detections are reported to the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center, which assigns a provisional designation and coordinates follow-up observations. Multiple nights of tracking let CNEOS compute an orbital solution - a mathematical model of the object's path around the Sun.

The orbital solution feeds into close-approach predictions, which appear in the NeoWs feed used by this tracker. For newly discovered objects, the uncertainty on miss distance can be large - sometimes spanning millions of kilometres. It shrinks rapidly as more observations come in.

Related pages

Common questions

What is NASA's asteroid tracker?
NASA's asteroid tracking system is run by the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. CNEOS maintains the close-approach database - a catalogue of every known asteroid or comet pass within 0.05 AU of Earth, published with date, miss distance, velocity, and estimated size. This tracker displays that data via the NASA NeoWs (Near Earth Object Web Service) API.
How often is NASA's asteroid data updated?
The NASA NeoWs API is updated continuously as new orbital solutions come in from ground-based observations. This tracker fetches fresh data every 30 minutes and caches the result. In practice, the close-approach data for objects several weeks out is stable - orbital solutions for well-tracked asteroids change slowly. Newly discovered objects can appear in the feed within hours of initial detection.
What does miss distance mean in the asteroid tracker?
Miss distance is the gap between Earth's centre and the asteroid's closest point during a flyby. This tracker displays it in lunar distances (LD), where one LD equals 384,400 km - the average Earth-Moon distance. An asteroid at 2 LD passes at twice the Moon's distance. Raw kilometres are shown alongside for reference.
What does "potentially hazardous" mean in the tracker?
A potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) is 140 metres or larger in estimated diameter and has an orbit that passes within 0.05 AU of Earth's orbit. The designation is a monitoring classification, not a warning. PHAs receive sustained attention because their size and orbital proximity make long-range impact calculations more important. None of the objects in this tracker carry a meaningful impact probability.
Can I see data for specific asteroids on this tracker?
Clicking any row in the table below navigates to that asteroid's detail page, which shows its full orbital parameters, size estimates, velocity, and approach history. For the complete multi-decade catalogue of predicted close approaches, NASA's CNEOS close-approach data table at cneos.jpl.nasa.gov provides a searchable interface covering centuries of predictions.
Sean Barraclough

Sean Barraclough

Creator of closeapproach.space

Recommended stargazing gear

Full guide →

This section contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Celestron 21023 Cometron 76mm Firstscope
Telescope

Celestron 21023 Cometron 76mm Firstscope

View on Amazon
Celestron 22016 Firstscope Robert Reeves Signature Edition 76mm Dobsonian
Telescope

Celestron 22016 Firstscope Robert Reeves Signature Edition 76mm Dobsonian

View on Amazon
SkyWatcher StarQuest-130P 130mm f/5 Parabolic Newtonian Reflector
Telescope

SkyWatcher StarQuest-130P 130mm f/5 Parabolic Newtonian Reflector

View on Amazon
Celestron UpClose G2 10×50 Porro Binoculars
Binoculars

Celestron UpClose G2 10×50 Porro Binoculars

View on Amazon
Celestron SkyMaster 15×70mm Porro Prism Binoculars
Binoculars

Celestron SkyMaster 15×70mm Porro Prism Binoculars

View on Amazon
Turn Left at Orion
Book

Turn Left at Orion

View on Amazon
2026 Guide to the Night Sky: Britain and Ireland
Book

2026 Guide to the Night Sky: Britain and Ireland

View on Amazon
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Book

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

View on Amazon
Philip's Planisphere Latitude 51.5 North
Planisphere

Philip's Planisphere Latitude 51.5 North

View on Amazon