Posted on 10/09/2025 6:52:01 AM PDT by Red Badger
A small asteroid narrowly missed Earth over Antarctica, passing within the altitude of the International Space Station. Credit: Shutterstock
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Asteroid 2025 TF zoomed over Antarctica just 266 miles above Earth, roughly the same height as the ISS.
Detected only hours later, the 1–3 meter rock posed no threat but provided valuable data for astronomers.
Close Encounter Over Antarctica
In the early hours of October 1, Asteroid 2025 TF swept over Antarctica at 00:47:26 UTC ± 18 seconds, passing within just 428 ± 7 km (266 ± 4 miles) of Earth’s surface. That distance places it nearly at the same height as the International Space Station, which orbits between about 370 and 460 km (230-286 miles) above the planet.
Measuring roughly 1 to 3 meters in diameter, the asteroid was detected by the Catalina Sky Survey only a few hours after it had already flown past Earth. Space rocks of this size are not considered hazardous. If one were to enter Earth’s atmosphere, it could create a bright fireball and potentially scatter small meteorites across the surface.
ESA Spots Asteroid That Made Very Close Approach to Earth
Credit: ESA / Las Cumbres Observatory, Acknowledgments: T. Santana-Ros, M. Micheli, F. Ocaña, M. Devogèle, L. Conversi, R. Kresken
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Eyes on the Sky
Soon after the asteroid’s discovery, astronomers from ESA’s Planetary Defence Office turned their attention to it, using the Las Cumbres Observatory telescope at Siding Spring in Australia.
Pinpointing such a small object in the vastness of space, especially when its exact position is still uncertain, requires exceptional precision. Their successful observation allowed scientists to determine the asteroid’s closest approach distance and timing with remarkable accuracy.
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Maybe next time......................
Send mo money
IIRC the space station orbits out to 250 miles altitude.
The asteroid was at 266.
Thats darn close to the Earth.
Seriously, “Space rocks of this size are not considered hazardous.”
Okay Fine. The next time one of these “small” rocks just happens to hit the ISS, I’ll be the first to say, “It’s only a scratch. It only chipped the paint.”
Doesn’t seem that big. It could have caused a house a good bit of damage...could have destroyed a car.
"...Space rocks of this size are not considered hazardous..."Like hell it's not hazardous. Can you imagine if a few-meter wide rock were to strike the Space Station? That's "game over" for the craft and anybody on it. And it was at the right altitude to do it.
One to three meters in diameter and it counts as an asteroid. They’re not making them like Ceres any more.
Grok: A 3-meter asteroid hitting Earth would release approximately 5.31 × 10¹² Joules, equivalent to ~1.27 kilotons of TNT [equivalent to a small nuclear weapon]. Much of this energy may dissipate in the atmosphere, limiting surface damage to a small area if it reaches the ground.
yeah, small, harmless ...
Cold have ruined your whole day....................
It’s not Hugh nor Ceres...................
Good thing the 2/3 of the Earth’s surface is ocean. A 3m rock will most likely make a big splash and that’s it. A few smaller ones have probably splashed somewhere in the time it took to write this.
Article says it would have broken into small pieces and burned up before hitting earth with maybe some small meteorites.
The situation was much more serious in 2020:
https://x.com/I_Am_JohnCullen/status/1856762928189346014
Yah,that makes sense. This reminds me of something that I once wanted to do...visit Harvard’s observatory located somewhere in suburban Boston,away (I assume) from the big city lights.
🐱🚀
Does earth have an edge? Wouldn’t surface have been correct?
🍺 When it’s hung over, yeah, Earth has an edge to it... 😊
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