Asteroid narrowly avoids Earth after whizzing past unnoticed
Usa today news
The Earth narrowly avoided being hit by an asteroid that was the size of a car – but the worrying part is that it went unnoticed by astronomers. The asteroid came as close to the Earth’s surface as the International Space Station (ISS), the European Space Agency (ESA) has claimed (Picture: Getty)
The asteroid, dubbed as 2025 TF, flew over Antarctica just after midnight UTC on October 1. They say that 2025 TF is roughly one to three meters across, and was first spotted by Nasa’s Catalina Sky Survey just a few hours after it had passed Earth. The ESA observed the object after its discovery, using the Las Cumbres Observatory telescope in Siding Spring, Australia, finding out that its closest point to Earth came at exactly 01:47:26 BST (Picture: Getty)
But there is no need to worry, as the ESA says that objects of this size pose no significant danger and would have most likely burned up or exploded in the atmosphere rather than slamming into the surface. They can produce fireballs if they strike Earth’s atmosphere, and may result in the discovery of small meteorites on the ground (Picture: Getty)
The ESA said: ‘Tracking down a metre-scale object in the vast darkness of space at a time when its location is still uncertain is an impressive feat. This observation helped astronomers determine the close approach distance and time given to such high precision’ (Picture: Getty)
A small space rock like 2025 TF could have caused serious damage to a spacecraft like the ISS but thankfully no spacecraft or satellites got in the way as this asteroid passed. Nasa has paused all public communication during the government shutdown but has created an entry for 2025 TF on its Center for Near-Earth Object Studies website (Picture: Getty)
Another small asteroid called 2025 TQ2 also flew within Earth’s vicinity the same day after 2025 TF’s approach, according to the Minor Planet Center, an international organisation tracking asteroids, comets, and other small bodies. The asteroid reportedly passed Earth over Canada at a distance of about 4,850 km (3,014 miles) (Picture: Getty)
Larger asteroids pose the threat of inflicting real damage. The 65 metre-long (300ft) asteroid 2024 YR4, spotted last year and predicted to have a 4% chance of striking the Moon, and could wipe out an entire city if it struck the Earth, astronomers say. The moon strike could kick up lunar dust and debris, which could threaten satellites around Earth (Picture: Getty)
