2002 MN is the provisional designation given to a 73-meter Apollonear-Earth asteroid that on 14 June 2002 passed Earth at a distance of 0.0008 AU (120,000 km; 74,000 mi),[3] about one third the distance to the Moon (0.3 LD).[5] The close approach was second only to the Earth approach by the 10-meter asteroid 1994 XM1.[5] 2002 MN was discovered on 17 June 2002, three days after closest approach.[1] Its mass and relative velocity were in the same general range as the object ascribed to the Tunguska event of 1908, which leveled over 2,100 km2 (800 sq mi) of trees in Siberia.
2002 MN was estimated to have a 1 in 360,000 chance of Earth impact sometime after 2070,[4] but further observations in July 2024[6] ruled this out, and the object was removed from the risk list.
History of closest approaches of large near-Earth objects since 1914 (less than H 24 and 1 LD)(A)
(A) This list includes near-Earth approaches of less than 1 lunar distances (LD) of objects with H brighter than 24. (B)Nominal geocentric distance from the center of Earth to the center of the object (Earth has a radius of approximately 6,400 km). (C) Diameter: estimated, theoretical mean-diameter based on H and albedo range between 0.05 and 0.25. (D) Reference: data source from the JPL SBDB, with AU converted into LD (1 AU≈390 LD) (E) Color codes: unobserved at close approach observed during close approach upcoming approaches Note: All close approaches between 1900 and 2200 are listed (with H<24 at less than 1 LD). Objects not observed during the approach, and simply estimated to have approached on this date, are colored grey. Generically estimated asteroid diameters are given in italics.
Notes
^Diameter estimate based on an assumed albedo of 0.15.
