EarthSky reports asteroid 1999 AN10 will pass Earth in 2027

EarthSky reports that asteroid 1999 AN10 will pass within roughly one lunar distance of Earth on August 7, 2027, and says the mountain-sized rock poses no impact risk during the encounter.

The separation is about 389,855 kilometers, or 242,240 miles, roughly one lunar distance, the span between Earth and the moon, EarthSky reports. The outlet adds that this distance is comparable to the moon’s distance from the planet. EarthSky notes the asteroid will pass Earth on the side opposite the moon during the 2027 encounter. The outlet places the encounter at roughly one lunar distance and describes it as a safe pass.

The closest lunar approach is 763,391 km, or 474,349 miles, about twice as far as the asteroid’s distance from Earth, EarthSky reports. The outlet uses that figure to answer whether the rock could hit the moon. EarthSky connects this geometry to the moon-approach distance, noting it is roughly twice the Earth separation. The article frames the lunar distance as safe for moon lovers and says the moon is not at risk.

At around 800 to 1,800 meters wide, about 0.5 to 1.1 miles, 1999 AN10 is a mountain-sized space rock, EarthSky estimates. The outlet says its 2027 pass will be close enough to view with binoculars. EarthSky reports that NASA labels the asteroid potentially hazardous, a classification tied to its large size despite the safe 2027 flyby.

The potentially hazardous label applies to rocks larger than 140 meters that approach within 0.05 astronomical units, EarthSky explains. The outlet says the label reflects possible future orbital changes if another object nudges the asteroid rather than immediate danger. EarthSky assigns zero impact probability to the August 7, 2027, flyby. The article tells readers the encounter is not something to fear but is worth observing, distinguishing the potentially hazardous label from immediate danger.

Astronomers discovered 1999 AN10 on January 13, 1999, at New Mexico’s Lincoln Laboratory Experimental Test Site, according to EarthSky. The outlet gives this discovery detail while describing the asteroid as an Apollo-class object whose orbit crosses Earth’s path. The rock circles the sun every 643 days on an elongated route reaching inside Earth’s orbit and far past Mars.

EarthSky notes the potentially hazardous label is tied to the object’s large size.

EarthSky reports NASA’s view that any impactor larger than 1 to 2 kilometers, or .6 to 1.2 miles, would have worldwide effects. The outlet adds that such a strike could blast dust into the atmosphere, dim sunlight for months and threaten global civilization. EarthSky introduces this NASA statement while explaining why 1999 AN10 is potentially hazardous due to its large size. EarthSky connects this effect to impactors larger than 1 to 2 kilometers, as stated by NASA, and to the potentially hazardous classification based on size.

EarthSky puts roughly 2,500 known potentially hazardous asteroids in the catalog, about half the estimated total population. The outlet gives this figure after discussing the effects of large impacts. EarthSky reports researchers believe surveys have found 90% of the biggest potentially hazardous asteroids. The outlet places this estimate after noting the cataloged count is only about half the total population.

The statistic contextualizes 1999 AN10 among known hazardous objects, framing it within the larger tracked population, EarthSky reports.

EarthSky’s notice describes the August 7, 2027 flyby as a safe event observable with binoculars over the Americas. The article places 1999 AN10 among roughly 2,500 cataloged potentially hazardous asteroids while noting surveys may have found only half the population. EarthSky frames the encounter as something to get excited about rather than fear. The outlet tells readers the encounter is not something to fear but is worth observing.

Apophis is another notable potentially hazardous asteroid, EarthSky reports. The outlet gives Apophis a close approach on April 13, 2029, at roughly 32,000 km above Earth’s surface, or 20,000 miles, and a width near 375 meters, or 1,230 feet. EarthSky says Apophis will pass closer than many geostationary satellites.

Scientists once worried about an Apophis collision, but observations ruled out impact risk for at least 100 years, EarthSky reports. The outlet places this after describing Apophis’s 2029 close approach closer than geostationary satellites. EarthSky presents Apophis as a former worry turned into a science opportunity. NASA’s OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft will study Apophis after its encounter, according to EarthSky.

EarthSky lists Bennu with a potential impact date of September 24, 2182, a width near 500 meters, or 1/3 mile, and odds around 1 in 2,700 from NASA’s 2021 orbital analysis. The outlet reports that Bennu is about 500 meters wide. EarthSky presents Bennu as another notable potentially hazardous asteroid alongside Apophis and 1999 AN10.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission collected a Bennu sample and returned it to Earth in 2023 for early solar system study, EarthSky reports. Scientists are studying that sample to learn about the early solar system, according to EarthSky. The outlet places this in the Bennu entry alongside the potential 2182 impact date and 1 in 2,700 odds from a 2021 NASA analysis. EarthSky groups Bennu within the tracked population of hazardous objects.

On June 26, 2028, an asteroid passes within roughly 248,700 km, or 154,500 miles, of Earth’s center, EarthSky lists. The rock is an approximately 940-meter, or 0.58-mile, asteroid passing inside the moon’s orbit. EarthSky says it will be a bit brighter than 1999 AN10.

The article also lists a separate October 26, 2028, approach for a different asteroid.

EarthSky also lists an October 26, 2028, closest approach at about 929,000 km, or 577,000 miles, from Earth. The object is an approximately 700-meter, or 0.43-mile, asteroid discovered in 1997. Early calculations suggested a possible future collision, but collision fears have been ruled out, the outlet says. EarthSky presents this asteroid as having attracted considerable attention after its 1997 discovery.

The article groups it with other notable potentially hazardous asteroids.

EarthSky says 1999 AN10 will peak around magnitude 7.3 and be visible with binoculars over North and South America. The outlet describes the object as big and close enough for binocular viewing. EarthSky calls the flyby something to get excited about rather than fear. Observers in the Americas can watch the rock overnight on August 7, 2027.

EarthSky sets closest approach at 7:12:05 UTC on August 7, 2027, equivalent to 2:12:05 am CDT for the Americas. The outlet gives this as the precise moment of closest approach during the August 7, 2027 flyby. EarthSky provides the timing as a skywatching guide for observers in the Americas during the flyby night. The same article says the asteroid will cross the constellations Taurus, Aries, Pisces and Pegasus overnight that same date.

The asteroid will cross Taurus, Aries, Pisces and Pegasus overnight on August 7, 2027, EarthSky says. The outlet provides this as a skywatching guide for observers in the Americas during the flyby night. EarthSky also gives the exact UTC and CDT timing of closest approach for that same overnight period. The article frames the constellation crossing as part of the viewing opportunity for skywatchers in North and South America.