This is the 92nd known asteroid to fly past Earth within 1 lunar distance since the start of the year and the first so far this month. August 2025 saw 9 such flybys, same as July and June. The most
2025 QD8 was first observed at Pan-STARRS 1, Haleakala, Hawaii on August 16 at 09:06 UTC — 18 days before flyby.
The flyby will occur at a nominal distance of 0.568 LD (217 000 km) with a relative velocity of 12.8 km/s. Earlier the same day, at 08:42 UTC, the asteroid will pass the Moon at 1.11 LD (~426 000 km).
The object belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids and has an estimated diameter between 17 and 38 m (55–125 feet), comparable to the Chelyabinsk impactor of 2013.
The asteroid will not make another comparable approach to Earth in the near future. Future encounters include close approaches to Mars in 2038 at 13.2 LD and 2109 at 30.8 LD. However, its current orbit carries a condition code of 6, meaning there is moderate uncertainty in its long-term trajectory.
As of September 1, 2025, data from NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at JPL listed 39 236 near-Earth objects (NEOs), including 123 near-Earth comets, 38 Atiras, 3 153 Atens, 22 196 Apollos, and 13 726 Amors.
Within this population, 2 493 objects are classified as potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs), of which 155 are larger than 1 km (0.6 miles). In total, 875 near-Earth asteroids exceed 1 km (0.6 miles) in diameter, and 11 354 are larger than 140 m (460 feet).
Between January 1 and September 1, the total number of known NEOs increased from 37 413 to 39 236, an addition of 1 823 objects. Over the same period, the number of potentially hazardous asteroids grew from 2 460 to 2 493 (+33 objects), while the number of near-Earth asteroids larger than 140 m (460 feet) rose from 11 139 to 11 354 (+215 objects). One object larger than 1 km (0.6 miles) was discovered.
References:
1 Asteroid 2025 QD8 – Minor Planet Center – September 2, 2025
2 Asteroid 2025 QD8 – CNEOS – September 2, 2025