If orbital mechanics were to shift this object's trajectory even slightly, the consequences would be catastrophic.
On May 27, 2022, an ancient rock nearly two kilometers wide will sweep past Earth at four million kilometers—a whisper in cosmic terms, yet enough to remind us that our planet moves through a solar system still very much in motion. Catalogued as 7335 (1989 JA) and traveling at 76,000 kilometers per hour, the asteroid carries no immediate menace, but its presence invites the older, quieter question humanity has always deferred: what would we do if it were aimed at us? NASA's answer, still being written, takes the form of spacecraft and mathematics rather than prayer.
- A 1.8-kilometer asteroid—four times the height of the Empire State Building—is hurtling toward its closest pass of Earth this year at 76,000 km/h, a speed that makes the fastest human machines look stationary.
- NASA has flagged 7335 (1989 JA) as 'potentially hazardous,' a classification that unsettles precisely because it acknowledges not what is happening now, but what orbital mechanics could one day arrange.
- The four-million-kilometer buffer—ten times the Earth-Moon distance—offers safety this time, but the asteroid belongs to the Apollo class, a family of 15,000 known objects whose orbits routinely cross Earth's path around the Sun.
- Humanity is not merely watching: the DART spacecraft, launched in November 2021, is en route to deliberately crash into a smaller asteroid and test whether a dangerous rock can be nudged off a collision course.
- After May 27, 7335 (1989 JA) will not return to close proximity until June 2055—arriving then at a far safer distance—leaving this passage as a dress rehearsal the solar system did not announce.
On May 27, asteroid 7335 (1989 JA)—nearly two kilometers across and the largest near-Earth object of 2022—will pass our planet at a distance of four million kilometers. The rock moves at roughly 76,000 kilometers per hour, and while the gap between it and Earth is about ten times the distance to the Moon, NASA has still classified it as potentially hazardous. That label is not a warning of present danger but an acknowledgment of future possibility: a modest shift in orbital mechanics could one day turn a near-miss into something far worse.
7335 (1989 JA) belongs to the Apollo family of asteroids, objects whose orbits periodically intersect Earth's path around the Sun. Astronomers track around 15,000 such bodies, part of a broader catalogue of more than 29,000 near-Earth objects. Most are small enough to ignore. This one is not.
NASA's response to the crowded solar system is no longer limited to observation. In November 2021, the agency launched the DART spacecraft on a mission to collide with Dimorphos, a 160-meter asteroid, in a test of whether a dangerous object could be redirected before it threatens life on Earth. The experiment will not destroy its target—it aims only to shift its orbit by a measurable degree, a proof of concept for planetary defense.
The asteroid will pass and continue on its way, returning to Earth's vicinity only in June 2055, and then at a far greater distance. Its brief appearance is less a crisis than a reminder: the solar system is busier than it looks, and the work of watching it never stops.
On May 27, an asteroid nearly two kilometers across will slide past Earth at a distance of four million kilometers—close enough in cosmic terms to warrant NASA's attention, far enough to pose no immediate threat. The object, catalogued as 7335 (1989 JA), is four times the height of the Empire State Building and represents the largest near-Earth object to approach our planet this year.
The rock is traveling at roughly 76,000 kilometers per hour, a velocity that dwarfs even the fastest bullets. Despite the comfortable separation—about ten times the distance between Earth and the Moon—NASA has classified 7335 (1989 JA) as potentially hazardous. The designation reflects not present danger but future possibility: if orbital mechanics were to shift this object's trajectory even slightly, the consequences of impact would be catastrophic across a continental scale.
This asteroid belongs to a class called Apollo objects, named for their characteristic orbits that periodically cross Earth's path around the Sun. Astronomers have catalogued roughly 15,000 such bodies. The broader category of near-Earth objects, or NEOs, encompasses more than 29,000 tracked bodies that venture within 48 million kilometers of our planet's orbit. Most are tiny, barely worth mentioning. 7335 (1989 JA) is not most asteroids.
NASA maintains constant surveillance of these wandering rocks, a vigilance born partly from prudence and partly from the recognition that planetary defense is no longer pure science fiction. The agency has already begun testing whether dangerous asteroids could be nudged away from collision courses. In November 2021, NASA launched the DART spacecraft—Double Asteroid Redirection Test—with a mission to collide head-on with Dimorphos, an asteroid 160 meters wide. The impact will not destroy the target, but it may alter the object's orbital path by a measurable amount, proof of concept for a technique that could one day save lives.
The next time 7335 (1989 JA) will approach Earth closely is June 23, 2055. When it does, it will pass even farther away—roughly 70 times the Earth-Moon distance. For now, the asteroid will arrive and depart without incident, a reminder that the solar system is far more crowded than most people realize, and that NASA's work tracking these objects continues not because catastrophe is imminent, but because the cost of being unprepared is too high to accept.
Notable Quotes
The designation reflects not present danger but future possibility: if orbital mechanics were to shift this object's trajectory even slightly, the consequences of impact would be catastrophic.— NASA's planetary defense assessment
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does NASA call something 'potentially hazardous' if it's passing at four million kilometers away?
Because distance alone doesn't determine danger. If this asteroid's orbit shifted—and orbits can shift—that same rock would become a civilization-ending threat. The classification is about what could happen, not what will.
Four times the Empire State Building. Can you put that in perspective?
The building is about 380 meters tall. This asteroid is roughly 1,800 meters across. Imagine something the size of a small mountain moving at 76,000 kilometers per hour. The energy in that collision would be unimaginable.
So why haven't we heard more about this?
Because it's not actually dangerous this time. The media tends to cover asteroid stories when there's real risk. This one is routine in the sense that it's doing exactly what we expect it to do—passing safely by.
What's the DART mission actually trying to prove?
That we can change an asteroid's path before it becomes a problem. If we can nudge Dimorphos even slightly with a spacecraft collision, we've shown the technique works. It's insurance against the day when we really need it.
How many of these near-Earth objects are we actually tracking?
Over 29,000. Most are small enough that impact would be regional at worst. But there are thousands of larger ones we're still discovering. The work is ongoing and will be for decades.