Live NASA Data

Next asteroid
close approach

Asteroids pass Earth regularly - several times a week on average. None are on a collision course. Below is a live countdown to the next recorded close approach, followed by the full list of upcoming flybys.

Next close approach in

days

hours

minutes

seconds

Upcoming approaches

All recorded close approaches in the coming weeks. Click any row to view full details.

Range:

Sort:

Unit:

Hazardous only

Name	Date	Est. Diameter	Miss Distance(LD)	Velocity	Hazard

Reading the data

Miss distance tells you how close the asteroid comes to Earth at its nearest point. It is measured in lunar distances (LD) - one LD being 384,400 km, the average gap between Earth and the Moon. An asteroid at 2 LD passes at twice the Moon's distance.

Velocity is the asteroid's speed relative to Earth at closest approach, measured in km/h. Most near-Earth asteroids travel at between 20,000 and 100,000 km/h - fast enough that the entire encounter is over within hours.

Objects flagged as potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs) are 140 metres or larger and have orbits that bring them within 0.05 AU of Earth's orbit. That classification is about monitoring priority, not impact risk. None of the objects shown carry a meaningful impact probability.

Full dashboard

Size comparisons, scatter plots, and the complete approach tracker.

Asteroids passing Earth in 2026

All known close approaches for the current year.

What is a close approach?

How NASA defines close approaches and how distances are measured.

How close do asteroids get?

Miss distances explained - record passes and what the numbers mean.

Common questions

How often do asteroids pass close to Earth?

Several times a week, on average. NASA's NeoWs database records hundreds of close approaches each year. Most involve small objects - under 50 metres - at distances of several lunar distances (LD), one LD being 384,400 km. Larger objects or approaches within one LD are less common but still occur multiple times per year.

How far in advance does NASA know about a close approach?

For well-studied asteroids, NASA can project close approaches decades ahead. For newly discovered objects, lead time depends on when they were first spotted. Survey telescopes aim to find large near-Earth objects (NEOs) years or decades before any close encounter. Smaller asteroids can sometimes be discovered only days before passing.

What is the closest an asteroid has passed Earth on record?

Asteroid 2023 BU passed roughly 3,600 km above Earth's surface in January 2023 - closer than many satellites in geostationary orbit. It measured an estimated 4-8 metres across and posed no threat. Apophis, a 370-metre asteroid, will pass at about 31,000 km from the surface in April 2029, placing it closer than geostationary satellites.

What does "miss distance" mean for an asteroid?

Miss distance is the gap between the asteroid's path and the centre of Earth at closest approach. It is commonly given in lunar distances (LD) or kilometres. A miss distance of 1 LD means the asteroid passes at the same distance as the Moon. A miss distance of 0.1 LD is ten times closer than the Moon.

Where can I track upcoming asteroid flybys in real time?

This tracker shows all upcoming close approaches from NASA's NeoWs API, refreshed every 30 minutes. For the full catalogue including objects years ahead, NASA's CNEOS website publishes a complete close-approach data table with customisable filters for date, distance, and size.