An asteroid the size of a small building flew past Earth last week, coming as close as the International Space Station, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). The space rock, designated 2025 TF, was detected hours after it passed over Antarctica by the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey, which uses telescopes in Arizona and Australia to monitor near-Earth objects.
European astronomers later observed the asteroid using the Las Cumbres Observatory telescope in Siding Spring, Australia. They estimated that 2025 TF came within 428 kilometres (265 miles) of Earth's surface, a distance comparable to the orbit of the International Space Station. 'This is one of the closest approaches ever recorded,' the ESA said in a statement.
The asteroid measured between one and three metres across, according to the ESA. '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,' the agency added. Another small asteroid, 2025 TQ2, also passed near Earth the same day, flying over Canada at a distance of about 4,850 kilometres (3,014 miles), less than half the Earth's diameter.
While asteroids of this size pose no significant threat to life or property, they can produce fireballs if they enter Earth's atmosphere. Space agencies continuously track near-Earth objects, categorising those larger than 150 metres and projected to come within 7.5 million kilometres as 'potentially hazardous'. Smaller asteroids can still cause damage; for instance, the 65-metre asteroid 2024 YR4, which has a small chance of striking the Moon in 2032, could wipe out a city if it hit Earth.
