Close Approach Record

Asteroid (2000 SZ162)

Closest pass on 2026-Oct-16 03:23 TDB (Julian Date: 2461329.640770141)

Key Facts

  • On 2026-Oct-16 03:23, asteroid (2000 SZ162) passed Earth at a nominal distance of 7,620,000 km (19.8 lunar distances).
  • At closest approach, the object was traveling at 5.69 km/s relative to Earth.
  • The object has an estimated size of 12.3 m, which is about the size of a school bus.
  • The miss distance was just under 20 times the distance to the Moon.
  • Hazard classification: 10 to 25 meters. Produces a powerful high-altitude shockwave capable of shattering windows, damaging roofs, and producing minor local injuries like the 2013 Chelyabinsk event.

Visual Scale Comparison

school bus 12 m Asteroid 2000 SZ162 about the size of a school bus ~12 m tennis court 23.8 m
Scale ladder data
Target12 m
Smallerschool bus: 12 m
Largertennis court: 23.8 m

Object size compared to known reference benchmarks.

Miss Distance Orbital Dial

Moon Orbit (1 LD = 384,400 km) 19.8 LD Earth

Concentric orbital rings showing Earth, Moon orbit, and asteroid trajectory.

Astrometric & Orbital Parameters

Designation2000 SZ162
Full Object Name(2000 SZ162)
Nominal Miss Distance7,620,000 km (19.8 lunar distances / 0.0509500404197293 au)
3-Sigma Minimum Distance1,000,175.949 km (2.602 LD)
Relative Velocity (v_rel)5.69047753989519 km/s (0.743 times the size of a ISS orbital velocity)
Velocity at Infinity (v_inf)5.68128003077767 km/s
Time Uncertainty (3-sigma)23:54
Absolute Magnitude (H)27.3 mag
Orbit Solution ID12 (NASA JPL Small-Body Database)
Inside Moon OrbitNo
Inside Geostationary RingNo

Cite this page

Permanent URL: https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Oct-16/2000-sz162/ | Machine-readable twin: index.json

APA:
What Nearly Hit Us Project. (2026). Asteroid (2000 SZ162) Close Approach on 2026-Oct-16 03:23. What Nearly Hit Us. Retrieved from https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Oct-16/2000-sz162/
MLA:
"Asteroid (2000 SZ162) Close Approach on 2026-Oct-16 03:23." What Nearly Hit Us, What Nearly Hit Us Project, 2026-09-24, https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Oct-16/2000-sz162/.
BibTeX:
@misc{approach_2000SZ162_202616,
  title = {Asteroid (2000 SZ162) Close Approach on 2026-Oct-16 03:23},
  author = {{What Nearly Hit Us Project}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Oct-16/2000-sz162/},
  note = {Primary upstream source: NASA/JPL CNEOS CAD API}
}