African elephant-sized asteroid 2026 VU
1.0 LD · ~4 m
Drawn to scale.
Silhouette: Chuanxin Yu, PhyloPic (CC0)
2026 VU passes inside the Moon's orbit, about 372,791 km from Earth's centre (1.0× the distance to the Moon). It is 2–6 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 the Moon's orbit about 100 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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