Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (242708) 2005 UK1 close encounter: an image – 11 Jan. 2026.
On 12 January 2026, the Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (242708) 2005 UK1 will have a relatively close encounter with the Earth, safely reaching a minimum distance from us of 12.4 millions of km, 32 times the average lunar distance. Here it is our image of this rock.
Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (242708) 2005 UK1 close encounter: 11 Jan. 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 sharp dot of light, marked with a white arrow, while stars show as short trails.
When we imaged it, potentially hazardous asteroid (242708) 2005 UK1 was at about 12.4 millions of km from us, almost at its minimum distance from our planet.
This 630 – 1400 meters large asteroid will reach its minimum distance (about 12.4 millions of km, 32 times the average lunar distance) from us on 12 Jan 2026, at 13:21 UTC (source: Nasa/JPL). Of course, there are no risks at all for our planet. This object was discovered on 24 October 2005 by the Mt. Lemmon Survey in Arizona, USA.
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