Asteroid 2023 XJ1 to fly past Earth at 0.27 LD

A newly-discovered asteroid designated 2023 XJ1 will fly past Earth at a distance of 0.27 LD / 0.00066 AU (98 242 km / 61 045 miles) from the center of our planet at 18:57 UTC on December 6, 2023.

This is the 101^st known asteroid to fly past Earth within 1 lunar distance since the start of the year and the 2^nd so far this month.

The object was first observed at Pan-STARRS 1, Haleakala, Hawaii on December 4 — two days before its close approach.

The object belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids and has an estimated diameter between 7.3 and 16 m (23.9 – 52.5 feet).

Featured image credit: CNEOS