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Asteroid 2026 SZ2 is one of 118 known asteroids flying within 1 LD of Earth in 2026 as of 15:30 UTC on September 21. Its 0.055 LD flyby was the second such close approach recorded this month at that rounded distance, following asteroid 2026 RT34, which passed Earth at 0.055 LD at 09:08 UTC on September 13.<\/p>\n
Based on distances in the current yearly database, 2026 SZ2 and 2026 RT34 are tied at 0.055 LD. Only 2026 JN4 at 0.005 LD, which entered the atmosphere, and 2026 PC6 at 0.053 LD were closer so far this year.<\/p>\n
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) classifies 2026 SZ2 as an Aten-class near-Earth object, while data from NASA\u2019s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) show an estimated diameter of 2.1 to 4.6 m (6.9 to 15.1 feet) and an absolute magnitude of H 30.5. The asteroid passed Earth at a relative velocity of 7.99 km\/s (4.96 mi\/s).<\/p>\n
The object was first observed by the University of Arizona Mt. Lemmon Survey in Arizona, at about 06:56 UTC on September 20 \u2013 about 14 hours and 23 minutes before closest approach.<\/p>\n
MPC logged 27 observations from about 06:56 UTC to 19:11 UTC on September 20, with 26 observations used in the current orbit solution over a 1-day arc. The MPC orbit solution has an uncertainty value of 4.<\/p>\n
Additional observations were obtained by Steward Observatory, Mt. Lemmon Station and Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona, ATLAS-HKO at Haleakala, Hawaii, Baihuashan Observatory in Beijing, China, and Great Shefford in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
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