9.8-foot asteroid zoomed past Earth in surprise close encounter; astronomers spotted it hours later

A small asteroid grazed past the Earth last week and barely anyone saw it in time. The object, now named 2025 TF, shot over Antarctica on October 1 at around 8:47 PM ET, coming within 265 miles (about 428 kilometers) of the surface. That is lower than most satellites – and roughly the same zone the International Space Station orbits, Live Science reported.

Earlier this month, a giraffe-sized asteroid slipped past the Earth just 265 miles over Antarctica.(Representative image/Unsplash)

The European Space Agency (ESA) confirmed the close call on Monday, noting that the asteroid was not big enough to cause any harm. It measured somewhere between 3.2 and 9.8 feet across, about the size of a fridge or small car. If it had entered the atmosphere, it likely would have lit up as a bright fireball before burning out.

According to the research group Aerospace Security, most satellites sit between 100 and 1,242 miles above Earth, meaning 2025 TF skimmed well beneath that range.

Asteroid 2025 TF: What to know?

No one spotted the asteroid as it approached. Astronomers caught it only a few hours after it had already passed, when data came through from the Catalina Sky Survey, a NASA-funded mission that scans for near-Earth objects. Soon after, the ESA’s Planetary Defence Office confirmed the flyby and locked in its exact path.

“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 above to such high precision,” the ESA said in a statement.

The agency later calculated that 2025 TF will not swing by again until April 2087.

Also Read: NASA considers using nuclear bombs to destroy Moon-bound ‘city killer’ asteroid 2024 YR4

Another rock right behind it

Just a day later, another small asteroid – called 2025 TQ2 – slipped by the Earth as well. That one zipped over Canada on October 2 at a distance of about 3,014 miles, according to EarthSky.org and the Minor Planet Center.

NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies says thousands of space rocks pass near the planet each year, but they are only tagged as “Potentially Hazardous Asteroids” if they are at least 500 feet wide and come within 4.65 million miles.

Between September 23 and September 28, 10 asteroids cruised past the Earth even closer than the Moon’s orbit. None of them were large enough to be dangerous.

Also Read: An asteroid could hit the moon in 2032. What will happen then? What are our options?