Near-Earth Asteroid 2026 HJ very close encounter: an image – 18 April 2026.
We spotted the near-Earth Asteroid 2026 HJ going to have a very close, but safe encounter with the Earth on 19 April 2026, coming as close as 114.000 km from us, 30% of the average lunar distance.
Near-Earth Asteroid 2026 HJ: 18 April 2026.
The image above comes from a single 300-second exposure, remotely taken with the “Elena” (PlaneWave 17″ + Paramount MEII + SBIG STL-6303E) robotic unit available as part of the Virtual Telescope Project in Manciano, Italy. The telescope tracked the apparent motion of the asteroid, showing as a faint dot in the center of the image, marked by an arrow: this is why the stars look like long streaks.
When we spotted it, asteroid 2026 HJ was at about 497.000 kilometers from us and safely approaching our planet.
This 2.4-5.4 meter large asteroid will reach its minimum distance (about 251.000 km, 65% of the average lunar distance) from us on 19 April 2026, at 19:13 UTC (source: Nasa/JPL). Of course, there are no risks at all for our planet.
Support The Virtual Telescope Project!
Support us! Please, donate and celebrate the ARTEMIS II mission with an EXCLUSIVE and STUNNING digital hi-res image of the largest Supermoon of 2025 to download and frame on your wall and many more pictures, specifically made for supporters like you!
