A small asteroid designated 2025 TF made a remarkably close encounter with Earth last week, passing nearer than many satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the space rock passed just 266 miles (428 km) above Earth’s surface over Antarctica on the evening of Tuesday, October 1.

The asteroid, estimated to be between 3 and 10 feet in diameter, posed no significant threat to the planet. Authorities noted that objects of this size typically burn up as spectacular fireballs upon atmospheric entry, though they can sometimes leave small meteorites on the ground.

A Missed Detection

The flyby was made noteworthy by the fact that 2025 TF went undetected until hours after its closest approach, highlighting the ongoing challenges astronomers face in tracking metre-scale objects in space. The altitude of its pass was comparable to that of the International Space Station (ISS), making it one of the closest asteroid flybys ever officially recorded.

Discovery and Tracking

The asteroid was first observed by the Catalina Sky Survey, a NASA-funded mission based at the University of Arizona. Following the initial sighting, astronomers at the ESA's Planetary Defence Office were able to track the object using the Las Cumbres Observatory telescope in Australia. ESA described the successful post-flyby tracking and trajectory calculation as "an impressive feat."

This narrow miss occurs nearly five years after asteroid 2020 VT4 passed only 230 miles above Earth in November 2020, which remains one of the closest non-impacting approaches on record. Astronomers stress that tracking and observing even small asteroids provides valuable data for planetary defense efforts.

In related news, ten other asteroids passed within the distance of the moon between September 23 and September 28 of this year, none of which posed a serious threat. The next expected flyby of asteroid 2025 TF is not predicted until April 2087.