**Fact Check: Asteroid 2026 JH2 Close Approach to Earth** * **What was Asteroid 2026 JH2?** Asteroid 2026 JH2 is a small near-Earth asteroid (estimated to be between 15 and 35 meters, or roughly bus- or house-sized) that was discovered by the Mount Lemmon Survey on May 10, 2026. * **When did it make its close approach?** It safely flew past Earth on **Monday, May 18, 2026**. * **How close did it get?** It passed within approximately **56,000 to 57,000 miles** (roughly 90,000 km) of Earth, which is about 24% of the distance to the Moon (well inside the Moon's average distance of ~239,000 miles). * **NASA / Fact Check Status:** NASA confirmed that while the encounter was unusually close for an asteroid of its size, it posed **no impact threat** to Earth. It was classified entirely as a safe, routine flyby.