Near-Earth Object (NEO) Close-Approach Report: Asteroid 2026 TU3, October 7, 2026
Single-object report for asteroid 2026 TU3 (54660677) , compiled from JPL Close Approach Data as listed in the Astrophyzix tracker, with size and risk fields derived by the tracker. This information was live at the time of publishing but immediately becomes a catalogue report due to the continuous nature of asteroid dynamics. Access live CNEOS CAD/Scout data using the Astrophyzix Observatory Live Multi-watch CAD/Scout/Sentry Tracking System.
On October 7, 2026 (UTC), JPL data resolve a close approach by 2026 TU3, an Apollo-class near-Earth asteroid roughly 5 m across. It passed Earth at about 02:51 TDB (≈ 02:50 UTC) on 7 October 2026, at approximately 0.826 lunar distances (317,507 km), inside the Moon’s distance, with a relative velocity near 14.3 km/s. It is the closest of the 47 objects in the tracker’s 7–13 October window. No listed approach is on an impacting trajectory.
Close Approaches (JPL CAD) ⏩ SCROLL
| Body | Epoch (TDB) | Time ± | Nominal (au) | Min (au) | Max (au) | v_rel (km/s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earth | 2026-Oct-07 02:51 | 00:02 | 0.00212 | 0.00211 | 0.00214 | 14.28 |
Source: JPL Close Approach Data (confirmed), as listed in the Astrophyzix tracker. 1 au = 149,597,870.7 km.
Orbital Dossier
2026 TU3 (SPK-ID: 54660677)
Heliocentric orbit as shown in the Astrophyzix tracker (rounded values). Dynamical class: APO (near-Earth asteroid orbits which cross the Earth’s orbit, similar to that of 1862 Apollo).
JPL Small-Body Database record: ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=2026 TU3
Encounter & Physical Parameters
2026 TU3 is an Apollo-class near-Earth asteroid roughly 5 m across (H 29.4; 3.5–7.9 m from the H-derived range). JPL lists its closest Earth pass at 0.826 LD at about 02:51 TDB on 7 October 2026, at 14.28 km/s, inside the Moon’s distance. It is the closest of the 47 objects in the tracker’s window (14 inside 10 LD, none PHA-class). It is not a PHA: H 29.4 is far fainter than the H 22 limit for that class, even though its Earth MOID is only 0.0016 au. The listed distance range (0.00211–0.00214 au) is narrow and the time uncertainty only ±2 min, so the pass is tightly constrained. Even its closest listed distance is about 49.5 Earth radii from Earth’s centre, so no listed approach is on an impacting trajectory.
(Perform live orbital refinement of this asteroid)
Data Provenance - Click to View
Report
- Layout
- Astrophyzix-NEO-Daily/2.2.0 (single-object report)
- Object
- 2026 TU3 (SPK-ID:54660677)
- Generated (UTC)
- Report date
Analysis
- Closest object
- 2026 TU3 at 0.826 LD
- Astrophyzix Risk Index
- 47/100 (Safe ✅ ) see documentation
- PHA class
- No (below PHA-class threshold, derived)
- Sentry status
- Not on Sentry watchlist
- Observations used
- 14
Source 1 – JPL Close Approach Data
- Listing
- Earth, 2026-10-07 02:51 TDB, source CAD (confirmed), as shown in the Astrophyzix tracker
- Retrieved
Source 2 – Astrophyzix tracker record
- Record
- Orbit & Physical Data panel (rounded values); derived fields (size, PHA class, ARI)
- Monitoring window (TDB)
- 2026-10-07 to 2026-10-13, 47 objects listed
- Retrieved
Constants
- Astronomical unit
- 149,597,870.7 km (IAU 2012 Resolution B2)
- Lunar distance
- 384,400 km (JPL/IAU nominal mean)
- Earth mean radius
- 6,371 km (IUGG)
- TT − UTC
- 69.184 s (37 leap seconds + 32.184 s), valid 2026
Methods
- Time scale
- Close-approach epochs are TDB; UTC ≈ TDB − 69.184 s
- Diameter self-test
- D[km] = 1329 / sqrt(pv) × 10(−H/5), pv 0.25–0.05 (Bowell)
- Trajectory integration
- None (catalogue report)
Primary references: JPL Small-Body Database (ssd.jpl.nasa.gov), NASA CNEOS (cneos.jpl.nasa.gov). Object hazard status should be verified against the CNEOS Sentry table. For live CNEOS Scout and JPL Close Approach Data use the Dual-watch PHA and NEO Tracking System
Astrophyzix Risk Index Documentation https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22240223 .
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