The asteroid (also written 1998 KY26) was discovered on June 2, 1998 by Spacewatch and observed until June 8 while it passed 800,000 kilometers (half a million miles) away from Earth (a little more than twice the Earth-Moon distance). The object could also be classified as a meteoroid, although the most common definition uses a diameter of 10 m as the demarcation. has a shape similar to a sphere and is about only 30 m (100 ft) in diameter. Its most fascinating characteristic is that it is fast-spinning and water-rich.