Asteroid (2026 RC49)
Closest pass on 2026-Sep-24 21:35 TDB (Julian Date: 2461308.399648095)
Key Facts
- On 2026-Sep-24 21:35, asteroid (2026 RC49) passed Earth at a nominal distance of 4,260,000 km (11.1 lunar distances).
- At closest approach, the object was traveling at 7.96 km/s relative to Earth.
- The object has an estimated size of 21.7 m, which is about one and a half school buses.
- The miss distance was just over 11 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
| Target | 22 m |
|---|---|
| Smaller | school bus: 12 m |
| Larger | tennis court: 23.8 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 | 2026 RC49 |
|---|---|
| Full Object Name | (2026 RC49) |
| Nominal Miss Distance | 4,260,000 km (11.1 lunar distances / 0.0284965485716478 au) |
| 3-Sigma Minimum Distance | 4,248,484.292 km (11.052 LD) |
| Relative Velocity (v_rel) | 7.96460619851371 km/s (about the speed of a ISS orbital velocity) |
| Velocity at Infinity (v_inf) | 7.95285786648816 km/s |
| Time Uncertainty (3-sigma) | < 00:01 |
| Absolute Magnitude (H) | 26.071 mag |
| Orbit Solution ID | 5 (NASA JPL Small-Body Database) |
| Inside Moon Orbit | No |
| Inside Geostationary Ring | No |
Cite this page
Permanent URL: https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Sep-24/2026-rc49/ | Machine-readable twin: index.json
APA:
What Nearly Hit Us Project. (2026). Asteroid (2026 RC49) Close Approach on 2026-Sep-24 21:35. What Nearly Hit Us. Retrieved from https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Sep-24/2026-rc49/MLA:
"Asteroid (2026 RC49) Close Approach on 2026-Sep-24 21:35." What Nearly Hit Us, What Nearly Hit Us Project, 2026-09-24, https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Sep-24/2026-rc49/.BibTeX:
@misc{approach_2026RC49_202624,
title = {Asteroid (2026 RC49) Close Approach on 2026-Sep-24 21:35},
author = {{What Nearly Hit Us Project}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Sep-24/2026-rc49/},
note = {Primary upstream source: NASA/JPL CNEOS CAD API}
}