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official data

Asteroid 2026 QH3 skims to 0.002436 AU — flyby, not a strike; Sentry lists 2121

Origin Lane: neoNASA JPL CNEOS, Pasadena, California

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Center for Near-Earth Object Studies Close Approach Data lists asteroid 2026 QH3 passing Earth at 0.002436 astronomical units on 30 August 2026 at 7:21 PM EDT (23:21 UTC). Relative speed is 7.246 km/s. Time uncertainty is less than one minute. That is a cataloged flyby. It is not an impact forecast for 2026. Unlike 2026 QY1 already on this board, NASA Sentry does list 2026 QH3. Sentry’s summary gives Torino scale 0, cumulative Palermo scale −6.29, and a cumulative impact probability of 1.1998×10⁻⁵, with virtual-impactor dates on 31 August 2121 — almost a century out, not this week.

Named place (estimated): NASA JPL CNEOS catalog/observatory in Pasadena. A close approach is not an impact forecast — this pin is not an impact site.
Designation
2026 QH3
Approach
Aug 30, 2026, 7:21 PM EDT
Distance
0.002436 AU (NASA CAD)
Speed
7.246 km/s relative
H magnitude
26.957
t_sigma_f
< 00:01
Sentry
listed; Torino 0; Palermo cum −6.29; IP 1.1998e-05; VI dates 2121-08-31

A close approach is not an impact forecast.

Doom Signals NEO lane rule; 2026 distances from NASA JPL CAD; 2121 virtual-impactor dates from NASA JPL Sentry

CAD fields used (NASA/JPL SBDB Close Approach Data API v1.5): designation 2026 QH3; close-approach date 2026-Aug-30 23:21; dist 0.0024362787889802 astronomical units (quoted here as 0.002436 AU); dist_min 0.00243504876401384 AU; dist_max 0.00243750876297664 AU; v_rel 7.24638304256932 km/s (quoted as 7.246 km/s); absolute magnitude H 26.957; orbit_id 2; t_sigma_f < 00:01.

Sentry (NASA/JPL Sentry Data API v2.0, queried for 2026 QH3)

  • Object is listed. Summary computed 2026-08-31 07:30:53; posted 2026-08-31 14:30:53.
  • n_imp 3 virtual impactors; all dated 2121-08-31 in the API data array.
  • Cumulative impact probability ip 1.1998e-05; cumulative Palermo ps_cum −6.29; maximum Torino ts_max 0.
  • H 26.96; last_obs 2026-08-30; nobs 26; observational arc 0.6696 days.
  • Sentry also reports diameter 0.014 and v_imp 13.24 in that summary record. This note does not convert those fields into a city or a yield.

What this is not

This note does not assign an impact date in 2026, a city, or a damage estimate. Presence on Sentry with Torino 0 and virtual-impactor years in 2121 is not a prediction that an impact will occur. Doom Signals does not claim a strike is coming.

Why it matters

0.002436 AU is a tight catalog miss — much closer than 2026 QY1’s 0.011673 AU — and still a miss in CAD. Sentry’s listing is long-term impact-probability monitoring, Torino 0. Treating the 30 August flyby as a strike date is a category error. Treating the 2121 virtual impactors as a scheduled hit is the same error with a later year.

Sources

Official data. Not a forecast. Endtimes badge not used on this note.

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