A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body orbiting the Sun whose closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 times the Earth–Sun distance. This definition applies to the object's orbit around the Sun, rather than its current position, thus an object with such an orbit is considered an NEO even at times when it is far from making a close approach of Earth. If an NEO's orbit crosses the Earth's orbit, and the object is larger than 140 meters (460 ft) across, it is considered a potentially hazardous object (PHO). Most known PHOs and NEOs are asteroids, but about 0.35% are comets.
Catalina Sky Survey is an astronomical survey to discover comets and asteroids. It is conducted at the Steward Observatory's Catalina Station, located near Tucson, Arizona, in the United States.
1991 BA is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Apollo group that was first observed by Spacewatch on 18 January 1991, and passed within 160,000 km (100,000 mi) of Earth. This is a little less than half the distance to the Moon. With a 5-hour observation arc the asteroid has a poorly constrained orbit and is considered lost. It could be a member of the Beta Taurids.
2008 TC3 (Catalina Sky Survey temporary designation 8TA9D69) was an 80-tonne (80-long-ton; 90-short-ton), 4.1-meter (13 ft) diameter asteroid that entered Earth's atmosphere on October 7, 2008. It exploded at an estimated 37 kilometers (23 mi) above the Nubian Desert in Sudan. Some 600 meteorites, weighing a total of 10.5 kilograms (23.1 lb), were recovered; many of these belonged to a rare type known as ureilites, which contain, among other minerals, nanodiamonds.
2010 RF12 is a very small asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Apollo group, that passed between Earth and the Moon on 8 September 2010, at 21:12 UTC, approaching Earth within 79,000 kilometres (49,000 mi) above Antarctica. The asteroid was discovered by the Mount Lemmon Survey near Tucson, Arizona on 5 September 2010 along with 2010 RX30. Based on a short 7-day observation arc from that apparation, it was listed for 12 years on the Sentry Risk Table as the asteroid with the greatest known probability (5%) of impacting Earth. 2010 RF12 was rediscovered in August 2022, and now has a 12-year observation arc and a much better known orbit. As of the December 2022 solution which accounts for nongravitational forces, there is a 1-in-10 chance of an Earth impact on 5 September 2095.
2011 MD is a bright micro-asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Apollo and Amor group, respectively. On 27 June 2011, at around 17:00 UTC, the object passed exceptionally close to Earth's surface at a distance of approximately 12,000 kilometers (7,500 mi), roughly the diameter of the Earth.
2011 CQ1 is a meteoroid discovered on 4 February 2011 by Richard A. Kowalski, at the Catalina Sky Survey. On the same day the meteoroid passed within 0.85 Earth radii (5,480 kilometers (3,410 mi)) of Earth's surface, and was perturbed from the Apollo class to the Aten class of near-Earth objects. With a relative velocity of only 9.7 km/s, had the asteroid passed less than 0.5 Earth radii from Earth's surface, it would have fallen as a brilliant fireball. The meteoroid is between 80 centimeters (31 in) and 2.6 meters (100 in) wide. The meteoroid was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on 5 February 2011.
367943 Duende (provisional designation 2012 DA14) is a micro-asteroid and a near-Earth object of the Aten and Atira group, approximately 30 meters (98 ft) in diameter. It was discovered by astronomers of the Astronomical Observatory of Mallorca at its robotic La Sagra Observatory in 2012, and named for the duende, a goblin-like creature from Iberian and Filipino mythology and folklore. Duende is likely an uncommon L-type asteroid and significantly elongated. For an asteroid of its size, it has a relatively long rotation period of 9.485 hours.
2013 TV135 is an Apollo near-Earth asteroid estimated to have a diameter of 450 meters (1,480 ft). On 16 September 2013, it passed about 0.0448 AU (6,700,000 km; 4,160,000 mi) from Earth. On 20 September 2013, it came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun). The asteroid was discovered on 12 October 2013 by Ukrainian amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov with a custom 0.2-meter (7.9 in) telescope using images dating back to 8 October 2013. It was rated level 1 on the Torino Scale from 16 October 2013 until JPL solution 26 on 3 November 2013. It reached a Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale rating of -0.73. It was removed from the JPL Sentry Risk Table on 8 November 2013 using JPL solution 32 with an observation arc of 27 days.
2014 AA was a small Apollo near-Earth asteroid roughly 2–4 meters in diameter that struck Earth on 2 January 2014. It was discovered on 1 January 2014 by Richard Kowalski at the Mount Lemmon Survey at an apparent magnitude of 19 using a 1.52-meter (60 in) reflecting telescope at Mount Lemmon Observatory. 2014 AA was only observed over a short observation arc of about 70 minutes, and entered Earth's atmosphere about 21 hours after discovery. Nonetheless, it remains one of only a few asteroids observed before impact.
2012 FN is an Apollo asteroid and a near-Earth object that has a 1 in 4 billion chance of impacting Earth on 7 March 2113. It is estimated to be 5 meters in diameter, which means that it poses no threat if it impacts Earth. An impact would have the kinetic energy of about 3 kt of TNT, and would probably result in an air burst in the upper atmosphere. It is the least threatening asteroid listed on the Sentry Risk Table. The very short observation arc of only 3 hours results in a very poorly constrained orbit, and it could just as easily be 2 AU from Earth on 7 March 2113.
2019 MO, temporarily designated A10eoM1, was a small, harmless 3-meter near-Earth asteroid discovered by ATLAS–MLO that impacted Earth's atmosphere on 22 June 2019 at 21:25 UT. The impact of the bolide generated a 5-kiloton-equivalent explosion off the south coast of Puerto Rico which was detected by infrasound detectors. The strewn field would be spread over the Caribbean Sea.
2022 EB5 was a small, two-metre Apollo near-Earth asteroid that disintegrated in Earth's atmosphere at 21:22 UTC on 11 March 2022, over the Arctic Ocean southwest of the Norwegian island Jan Mayen. With an atmospheric entry speed of 18 km/s (11 mi/s), the asteroid's impact generated a 4-kiloton-equivalent fireball that was detected by infrasound from Greenland and Norway. A bright flash possibly associated with the event was reported by observers from Northern Iceland.
2022 WJ1, formerly designated C8FF042, was a small, harmless ≈1-metre near-Earth asteroid or meteoroid that impacted Earth's atmosphere on 19 November 2022 at 08:27 UT in Southern Ontario, Canada, above the Golden Horseshoe region, southwest of Toronto. Meteorites were detected by weather radar during dark flight.
(741081) 2005 LW3 is a binary near-Earth asteroid classified as a potentially hazardous object of the Apollo group. It was discovered on 5 June 2005 by the Siding Spring Survey at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. It made a close approach of 2.97 lunar distances (1.14×10^6 km; 0.71×10^6 mi) from Earth on 23 November 2022, reaching a peak brightness of apparent magnitude 13 as it passed over the northern celestial hemisphere sky. It was extensively observed by astronomers worldwide during the close approach, and radar observations by NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar in California discovered a 100 m (330 ft)-wide natural satellite orbiting the asteroid at a wide separation of 4 km (2.5 mi).
2023 CX1, initially known under temporary designation Sar2667, was a metre-sized asteroid or meteoroid that entered Earth's atmosphere on 13 February 2023 02:59 UTC and disintegrated as a meteor over the coast of Normandy, France along the English Channel. It was discovered less than seven hours before impact, by Hungarian astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky at Konkoly Observatory's Piszkéstető Station in the Mátra Mountains, Hungary. 2023 CX1 is the seventh asteroid discovered before impacting Earth and successfully predicted, and the third of those for which meteorites have been recovered. Before it impacted, 2023 CX1 was a near-Earth asteroid on an Earth-crossing Apollo-type orbit.
2024 UQ, designated formerly as A11dc6D, was a one-meter meteoroid that struck the Earth's atmosphere and burned up harmlessly on 22 October 2024 above the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. 2024 UQ is the tenth impact event that was successfully predicted, which was discovered by the ATLAS survey. The Center for Near-Earth Object Studies reported a fireball on 10:54 (UTC).
2024 XA1, formerly designated as C0WEPC5, is a small meteoroid that fell over eastern Siberia near the city of Olekminsk on 3 December 2024, 16:15 GMT. It is the eleventh impact event that was successfully predicted.
