This is a list of examples where an asteroid or meteoroid travels close to the Earth. Some of these objects are regarded as potentially hazardous objects if they are estimated to be large enough to cause regional devastation. This list also gives an overview of more detailed lists dedicated to specific years, such as List of asteroid close approaches to Earth in 2025.
Near-Earth object detection technology began to improve around 1998, so objects being detected as of 2004 could have been missed only a decade earlier due to a lack of dedicated near-Earth astronomical surveys. As sky surveys improve, smaller and smaller asteroids are regularly being discovered. As smaller asteroids are more numerous, ever more close approaches are detected within a given distance. In 2014, scientists estimated that several dozen asteroids in the size range fly by Earth at a distance closer than the Moon every year, but only a fraction of these are actually detected.
Definitions
The lists below are based on the close approach database of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), in its state . The database lists any approaches with a minimum distance less than 0.2 astronomical units (AU) from 1900 and until a century into the future which have been derived by orbit calculations. This includes some close approaches a full orbit or more before or after the object has been observed.
The distance calculated for an approach has an uncertainty, the magnitude of which depends on the amount, length in time and quality of observations used, the extrapolation time from the observations, and perturbations by other objects along the predicted orbit. The uncertainty is usually characterised by the 3-sigma uncertainty region, which is the nominal close approach distance plus or minus three times the standard deviation, and includes 99.7% of the probability distribution. For predicted close approaches in the future, if Earth is near the uncertainty region or intersects it, an impact risk is calculated. Confirmed impacts, however, aren't considered close approaches and are excluded from the CNEOS close approach database. Asteroids whose detection in space led to predicted impacts on Earth are listed separately, as are the hundreds of other objects that collided with Earth's atmosphere which were not discovered in advance but were observed visually or recorded by sensors designed to detect detonation of nuclear devices. The CNEOS list also does not include Earth-grazers, objects that enter Earth's atmosphere at a very shallow angle and leave it again without burning up completely, but they are listed separately below. Although Earth's atmosphere thins out continuously with distance from Earth's surface, the nominal limit of space is the Kármán line, which is above sea level.
Timeline of closest approaches ever observed
The list below shows all approaches by potentially hazardous objects (objects which can approach Earth within 0.05 AU) without atmospheric contact which have been the closest ever observed at some point in time, from the discovery of the first such object to the record holder, .
Date ofclosestapproach Nominalgeocentric distance Object Size (m)(approximate) Abs. mag. Ref (km) (LD) (AU) 1932-05-15 11,220,000 29.189 0.075003 1862 Apollo 1500 16.1 1936-02-07 2,217,500 5.769 0.014823 2101 Adonis 600 18.7 1937-10-30 740,600 1.927 0.004951 69230 Hermes 770–1700810 17.7 1989-03-22 684,000 1.779 0.004572 4581 Asclepius 190–420 20.7 384,399 1.000 0.002570 average distance to the Moon 1991-01-18 149,200 0.438 0.001124 5.1–11 28.6 1993-05-20 149,200 0.438 0.001124 4.2–9.4 29.0 1994-12-09 105,300 0.388 0.000997 6.1–14 28.2 2003-09-27 84,200 0.274 0.000704 2.5–5.7 30.1 2004-03-18 49,100 0.219 0.000563 2004 FH 14–31 26.4 42,164 0.110 0.0002827 geosynchronous orbit 2004-03-31 12,900 0.0336 0.0000863 3.4–7.6 29.5 2008-10-09 12,540 0.0329 0.0000845 0.61–1.4 33.2 2011-02-04 11,852 0.0308 0.0000792 1.0–2.3 32.1 2020-08-16 9,317 0.0242 0.0000623 2.8–6.2 29.9 2025-10-01 6,780 0.0180 0.0000453 1.2–2.7 31.7 2020-11-13 6,746 0.0175 0.0000451 5.0–11 28.6 2025-10-30 6,599 0.0172 0.0000441 0.41–0.93 34.06 6,478 0.01685 0.0000433 Kármán line (nominal limit of the atmosphere) above the equator 6,378 0.01659 0.0000426 equatorial radius of the Earth
Close approaches within one lunar distance
The average distance to the Moon (or lunar distance (LD)) is , which is around 30 times the diameter of the Earth. The lists in this section are of close approaches in less than one LD.
Time of discovery
The bar graphs below show the time of discovery relative to the time of the closest approach for each year. The asteroids are listed in separate list articles for each year. The statistics below only include close approaches that are evidenced by observations, thus the pre-discovery close approaches are only included if the object was found by precovery.
+Year(s)ApproachesTotal2000-2007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 Discovered > 1 year in advance Discovered > 7 weeks in advance Discovered > 1 week in advance Discovered up to 1 week in advance < 24 hours' warning < no warning
Closest per year
From the annual lists summarized in the preceding section, these are the closest known asteroids per year that approach Earth within one lunar distance. More than one asteroid per year may be listed if its geocentric distanceDistance from the center of Earth to the center of the object. See the NASA/JPL Solar System Dynamics Glossary: Geocentric . Earth has a radius of approximately 6,400 km.
The CNEOS database of close approaches lists some close approaches a full orbit or more before or after the discovery of the object, derived by orbit calculation. Until 2001 and in future years, all of these close approaches are included in the list below, but from the start of regular discoveries each year in 2001 until the current year, the list is limited to close approaches that are evidenced by observations, thus any of these pre-discovery close approaches are only included if the object was found by precovery.
Rows highlighted red indicate objects which were not discovered until after closest approach
Rows highlighted yellow indicate objects discovered less than 24 hours before closest approach
Rows left white indicate objects discovered 1–7 days before closest approach
Rows highlighted green indicate objects discovered more than one week before closest approach
Rows highlighted blue indicate objects discovered more than one year before closest approach, i.e. objects successfully cataloged on a previous orbit, rather than being detected during final approach.
Year Date ofclosest approach Datediscovered Object Nominalgeocentricdistance(in 000's km) Nominalgeocentricdistance(in LD) Size of object(in meters) (H) Ref 2095 2095-09-06 2010-09-05 51.9 0.135 5.5–12 28.4 2032 2032-08-14 2008-02-18 127.4 0.332 18–41 25.8 2029 2029-04-13 2004-06-19 99942 Apophis 38.0 0.096 340 ±40 19.1 2028 2028-06-26 2001-11-20 248.7 0.647 932 ±11 18.3 2025 2025-10-30 2025-10-30 6.6 0.017 0.41–0.93 34.06 2024 2024-12-01 2024-12-01 7.7 0.020 1.2–2.8 31.6 2023 2023-01-27 2023-01-21 10.0 0.026 3.1–6.9 29.7 2022 2022-03-25 2022-03-24 14.8 0.039 1.6–3.7 31.1 2021 2021-10-25 2021-10-25 9.4 0.025 1.1–2.5 31.8 2020 2020-11-13 2020-11-14 6.7 0.018 5.0–11 28.6 2019 2019-10-31 2019-10-31 12.6 0.033 1.1–2.4 32.0 2018 2018-10-19 2018-10-19 13.7 0.036 2.4–5.4 30.2 2017 2017-04-04 2017-04-03 16.3 0.042 2.8–6.2 29.9 2016 2016-02-25 2016-02-26 14.3 0.037 2.1–4.7 30.5 2015 2015-09-22 2015-09-24 26.6 0.069 4.4–9.9 28.9 2014 2014-06-03 2014-06-02 20.0 0.052 4.0–9.0 29.1 2013 2013-12-23 2013-12-23 27.3 0.071 1.4–3.1 31.4 2013-02-15 2012-02-23 367943 Duende* 34.1 0.089 39–86 24.2 2012 2012-05-29 2012-05-28 20.8 0.054 4.2–9.4 29.0 2011 2011-02-04 2011-02-04 11.9 0.031 1.0–2.3 32.1 2010 2010-11-17 2010-11-16 38.9 0.101 2.7–5.9 30.0 2009 2009-11-06 2009-11-06 20.5 0.053 5.1–11 28.6 2008 2008-10-09 2008-10-09 12.6 0.033 0.6-1.4 33.2 2007 2007-10-17 2007-10-21 69.7 0.181 4.8–11 28.7 2006 2006-02-23 2006-02-22 117.5 0.306 13–30 26.5 2005 2005-11-26 2005-11-25 83.8 0.218 2.8–6.2 29.9 2004 2004-03-31 2004-03-31 12.9 0.034 3.4–7.6 29.5 2003 2003-09-27 2003-09-28 84.2 0.22 2.5–5.7 30.1 2002 2002-12-11 2002-12-13 117.7 0.31 23–52 25.3 2001 2001-11-08(undetected) 2017 120.2 0.31 200–440 20.6 2001-01-15 2001-01-19 306.2 0.80 17–38 26.0 1999 1999-03-12(undetected) 2013 313.3 0.82 4.2–9.4 29.0 1994 1994-12-09 1994-12-09 105.3 0.27 6.1–14 28.2 1993 1993-05-20 1993-05-21 149.2 0.39 4.2–9.4 29.0 1992 1992-09-12(undetected) 2024 62.6 0.16 0.89–2.0 32.4 1991 1991-01-18 1991-01-18 168.2 0.44 5.1–11 28.6 1990 1990-09-19(undetected) 2003 205.9 0.54 4.0–9.0 29.1 1988 1988-10-15(undetected) 2010 367.3 0.96 12–26 26.8 1987 1987-08-25(undetected) 2024 384.3 1.00 9.0–20 27.4 1985 1985-11-01(undetected) 2019 253.7 0.66 3.1–6.9 29.7 1984 1984-01-10(undetected) 2016 294.8 0.77 16–36 26.1 1982 1982-11-04(undetected) 2012 314.3 0.82 150–330 21.3 1980 1980-10-15(undetected) 2018 173.3 0.45 32–71 24.6 1979 1979-09-02(undetected) 2014 334.6 0.87 3.2–7.1 29.6 1977 1977-09-05(undetected) 2022 128.7 0.33 31–68 24.7 1976 1976-10-17(undetected) 2013 328.2 0.85 81–180 22.6 1975 1975-07-01(undetected) 2021 117.9 0.31 9.7–22 27.2 1972 1972-03-17(undetected) 2021 91.7 0.24 2.3–5.2 30.3 1971 1971-03-19(undetected) 2024 135.5 0.35 34–77 24.4 1970 1970-02-26(undetected) 2019 361.3 0.94 20–45 25.6 1968 1968-04-23(undetected) 2008 91.7 0.24 33–75 24.5 1965 1965-10-27(undetected) 2005 340.9 0.89 14–30 26.4 1964 1964-11-07(undetected) 2023 253.6 0.66 6.7–15 28.0 1961 1961-05-31(undetected) 2022 353.4 0.92 6.1–14 28.2 1960 1960-10-24(undetected) 2004 184.1 0.48 6.4–14 28.1 1959 1959-01-27(undetected) 2012 204.2 0.53 8.0–18 27.6 1958 1958-10-29(undetected) 2024 182.8 0.48 3.5–7.9 29.4 1957 1957-12-10(undetected) 2010 60.8 0.16 28–62 24.9 1955 1955-06-19(undetected) 2015 226.7 0.59 13–28 26.6 1954 1954-03-13(undetected) 2013 103.5 0.27 1.6–3.6 31.1 1953 1953-04-10(undetected) 2019 202.6 0.53 19–43 31.1 1952 1952-10-23(undetected) 2009 260.1 0.68 31–68 31.1 1949 1949-01-01(undetected) 2003 258.6 0.67 4.0–9.0 29.1 1948 1948-01-24(undetected) 2017 378.8 0.99 6.7–15 28.0 1944 1944-08-12(undetected) 2022 227.7 0.59 2.7–6.1 29.9 1942 1942-09-11(undetected) 2023 330.3 0.86 4.2–9.3 29.0 1941 1941-01-10(undetected) 2014 141.3 0.37 8.4–19 27.5 1940 1940-09-16(undetected) 2007 251.1 0.65 24–54 25.2 1938 1938-11-14(undetected) 2023 82.2 0.27 4.3–9.7 28.9 1936 1936-01-06(undetected) 2010 212.6 0.55 58–130 23.3 1935 1935-03-08(undetected) 2015 184.1 0.48 22–49 25.4 1933 1933-10-22(undetected) 2015 253.2 0.66 7.3–16 27.8 1931 1931-10-01(undetected) 2022 334.3 0.87 5.8–13 28.3 1928 1928-03-20(undetected) 2024 179.6 0.47 8.6–19 27.4 1926 1926-02-06(undetected) 2023 149.6 0.39 15–34 26.2 1925 1925-03-29(undetected) 2002 39.3 0.10 460 ±17 18.6 1923 1923-06-26(undetected) 2021 368.9 0.96 140–320 27.5 1922 1922-06-07(undetected) 2017 51.8 0.13 8.4–19 27.5 1920 1920-06-21(undetected) 2023 271.0 0.71 18–40 27.5 1919 1919-04-02(undetected) 2024 112.2 0.29 1.7–3.8 31.0 1918 1918-09-17(undetected) 2011 350.0 0.91 730–1600 17.8 1914 1914-12-31(undetected) 1998 233.2 0.61 330–740 19.4 1910 1910-05-09(undetected) 2007 174.9 0.45 22–49 25.4
*367943 Duende is listed for 2013 although it was only the second-closest that year for notability: it is the largest asteroid that was observed while it approached within the radius of the geostationary orbit, it was also predicted nearly a year in advance, and coincidentally approached just a few hours after the unrelated Chelyabinsk meteor, which was unpredicted, but injured thousands of people when it impacted.
Largest per year