African elephant-sized asteroid 2026 RT34
0.05 LD · ~3 m
Drawn to scale.
Silhouette: Chuanxin Yu, PhyloPic (CC0)
2026 RT34 passes inside geosynchronous orbit, about 19,220 km from Earth's centre (0.05× the distance to the Moon). It is 2–5 m across (estimated). If a rock this size hit Earth, it would burn up as a bright fireball high in the atmosphere; at most, small meteorites reach the ground. Astronomers spot one this size passing inside geosynchronous orbit about 9 times a year, and many more pass unseen. This is a routine close approach with no known impact risk.
For the background, read Impact risk in Asteroids.
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