Asteroid (2023 ML3)
Closest pass on 2026-Oct-22 19:39 TDB (Julian Date: 2461336.318763698)
Key Facts
- On 2026-Oct-22 19:39, asteroid (2023 ML3) passed Earth at a nominal distance of 12,000,000 km (31.1 lunar distances).
- At closest approach, the object was traveling at 14.6 km/s relative to Earth.
- The object has an estimated size of 7.49 m, which is 0.624 times the size of a school bus.
- The miss distance was 0.219 times the Mars closest approach.
- Hazard classification: Under 10 meters. Typically burns up harmlessly high in the upper atmosphere, producing a bright meteor fireball with negligible ground risk and occasional small meteorite fragments.
Visual Scale Comparison
| Target | 7 m |
|---|---|
| Smaller | giraffe: 5.5 m |
| Larger | school bus: 12 m |
Object size compared to known reference benchmarks.
Miss Distance Orbital Dial
Concentric orbital rings showing Earth, Moon orbit, and asteroid trajectory.
Astrometric & Orbital Parameters
| Designation | 2023 ML3 |
|---|---|
| Full Object Name | (2023 ML3) |
| Nominal Miss Distance | 12,000,000 km (31.1 lunar distances / 0.0799527136870364 au) |
| 3-Sigma Minimum Distance | 11,921,949.672 km (31.014 LD) |
| Relative Velocity (v_rel) | 14.6318571969474 km/s (about 2 ISS orbital speeds) |
| Velocity at Infinity (v_inf) | 14.6295794079045 km/s |
| Time Uncertainty (3-sigma) | 4_21:25 |
| Absolute Magnitude (H) | 28.38 mag |
| Orbit Solution ID | 3 (NASA JPL Small-Body Database) |
| Inside Moon Orbit | No |
| Inside Geostationary Ring | No |
Cite this page
Permanent URL: https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Oct-22/2023-ml3/ | Machine-readable twin: index.json
APA:
What Nearly Hit Us Project. (2026). Asteroid (2023 ML3) Close Approach on 2026-Oct-22 19:39. What Nearly Hit Us. Retrieved from https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Oct-22/2023-ml3/MLA:
"Asteroid (2023 ML3) Close Approach on 2026-Oct-22 19:39." What Nearly Hit Us, What Nearly Hit Us Project, 2026-09-24, https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Oct-22/2023-ml3/.BibTeX:
@misc{approach_2023ML3_202622,
title = {Asteroid (2023 ML3) Close Approach on 2026-Oct-22 19:39},
author = {{What Nearly Hit Us Project}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Oct-22/2023-ml3/},
note = {Primary upstream source: NASA/JPL CNEOS CAD API}
}