8legs: Magdalena ridge observatory

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A City-Killer Asteroid Just Passed Shockingly Close to Earth, and Scientists Barely Saw It Coming

A bus-sized asteroid, 2026 JH2, passed within 56,000 miles of Earth, about a quarter of the Moon's distance.
Scientists said there was no chance of impact, but warnings arrived only days before approach.
Observatories in Arizona, Kansas, and New Mexico detected the asteroid days before it passed by Earth.
Experts compare JH2 to the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor in size and potential impact risk.
NASA’s overall message notes that space rocks pass through our neighborhood regularly, with varying warning times.
Researchers noted that the 2026 JH2 event is not considered rare in the context of near-Earth object flybys this year.
Experts say a city-killer could be diverted with deflection technology if detected in time.
The event prompted reflection on whether we have enough runway to act if trajectories were different.
The report notes 73 known asteroids will pass within one lunar distance of Earth in 2026.

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