An Asteroid Flew Closer Than the ISS Recently – Universe Today
14 hours ago
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- #planetary-defense
- Asteroid 2025 TF made the second closest pass to Earth ever observed on October 1st.
- Astronomers discovered the asteroid only after it had already passed its closest approach.
- The asteroid was about 1-3m in size and passed approximately 428 km above Antarctica.
- No danger was posed to Earth, but it could have created a fireball if it entered the atmosphere.
- Asteroid 2025 TF was detected by the Kitt Peak National Observatory and other telescopes after its closest approach.
- The closest known asteroid pass was by 2020 VT4, which came within 386 km of Earth.
- Small asteroids like these pose a threat to orbital infrastructure, potentially causing Kessler Syndrome.
- Current detection systems are insufficient to reliably find small, fast-moving asteroids.
- More ground and space-based telescopes are needed to improve asteroid tracking and planetary defense.