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Loading contentWhat a 'close approach' means (and why it rarely means danger) is shown as reference. Upcoming approach dates and miss distances are prepared for the Minor Planet Center and NASA near-Earth-object data.
A 'close approach' means an object passes relatively near Earth's orbit. The vast majority pass millions of kilometres away and pose no danger; genuine impact risks are tracked separately and are rare.
Close-approach distances are often given in lunar distances (LD): 1 LD ≈ 384,400 km, the average Earth–Moon distance.
Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.
Designations and orbits of asteroids, comets, and minor bodies.
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.