Car-Sized Asteroid 2026 FM3 to Buzz Earth Tonight | Space.com

A car-sized asteroid will create a close approach to Earth late tonight, passing within 147,836 miles (237,918 kilometers) of the planet’s southern hemisphere at 10:07 p.m. EDT (0207 GMT on March 25), according to NASA.

The asteroid, designated 2026 FM3, was discovered just three days ago by the Zwicky Transient Facility at the Palomar Observatory in California. Despite its relatively close approach – less than 62% of the distance to the moon – NASA officials say the asteroid poses no threat to Earth or its lunar companion.

2026 FM3 is estimated to be between 4 and 8 meters (13-26 feet) in diameter and will be traveling at approximately 11,461 miles per hour (18,444 kilometers per hour) during its flyby. The asteroid will pass the moon at a distance of 370,022 miles (595,492 km) just over three hours later.

While 2026 FM3’s orbit intersects Earth’s twice during its 354-day period around the sun, NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) has determined it is not currently considered a potentially hazardous asteroid. The asteroid’s closest known approach to Earth occurred in September 1965, when it missed the planet by just 30,559 miles (49,181 km).

However, current observations indicate that 2026 FM3 will not make any similarly close approaches to Earth within the next 100 years. Smaller asteroids and space debris frequently enter Earth’s atmosphere, often creating visible meteors, or “shooting stars.” Larger fragments can result in dramatic fireballs, as recently observed over Ohio and Texas, sometimes scattering debris onto the ground.

2026 FM3 is one of over 41,000 near-Earth asteroids discovered to date. This number is expected to increase significantly with the advent of new observatories, such as the Vera Rubin Observatory, which has already identified over 2,000 previously unknown asteroids in its initial dataset.