Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (162882) 2001 FD58 close encounter: an image – 15 Feb. 2026.
On 14 February 2026, the Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (162882) 2001 FD58 had a close encounter with the Earth, safely reaching a minimum distance from us of 6.5 millions of km, 17 times the average lunar distance. We imaged it the following night.
Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (162882) 2001 FD58: 15 Feb. 2026.
The image above comes from a single, 120-second exposure, remotely taken with the “Elena” (PlaneWave 17″ + Paramount MEII + SBIG STL-6303E) robotic unit available as part of the Virtual Telescope Project and installed in Manciano, Italy. The telescope tracked the apparent motion of the asteroid, so it looks like a bright and sharp dot of light, marked with a white arrow, while stars show as long trails.
When we imaged it, potentially hazardous asteroid (162882) 2001 FD58 was at about 6.7 millions of km from us and already leaving, more than one day after its safe flyby.
This 470 – 1000 meters large asteroid reached its minimum distance (about 6.5 millions of km, 17 times the average lunar distance) from us on 14 Feb. 2026, at 14:11 UTC (source: Nasa/JPL). Of course, there were no risks at all for our planet.
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