Asteroid 2025 TF barely brushes past Antarctica.

On September 30th, a 3-meter-wide asteroid barely skimmed across Earth’s atmosphere, setting a record for the 2nd closest flying object towards Earth. It almost touched down in Antarctica, but it shifted away unexpectedly. The asteroid 2025 TF did not set a world record, but it was still named one of the closest-flying asteroids after passing Earth at approximately 266 miles, the closest ever recorded being 230 miles. The distance is comparable to the altitude of the International Space Station (ISS).

The Catalina Sky Survey (CSS), a NASA-funded project, first discovered 2025 TF. The CSS soon recognized the 2025 TF after it flew by the radar located in Arizona a couple of hours later. The Las Cumbres Observatory telescope in Siding Spring, Australia, then observed the asteroid.

2025 TF was extremely small compared to many other asteroids, with only an estimated diameter of 3-9 feet (around 3 meters). Commonly, any asteroid as small as 2025 TF would not have posed a threat to any part of the Earth. Just like any other floating object in outer space, 2025 TF was completely harmless.

However, “they can produce fireballs if they strike Earth’s atmosphere and may result in the discovery of small meteorites on the ground,” CSS stated. Asteroids pass by Earth relatively often, and another small asteroid with the name 2025 TQ2 passed by a day later.

More information has not yet been disclosed due to the government shutdown that occurred on the same day, following Congress’s delay in passing appropriations legislation for the fiscal year. The shutdown has affected NASA’s public communications, but the European Space Agency (ESA) provided details on the asteroid.