Tiny asteroid zipped past Earth at 'danger' distance

Technology Oct 07, 2025

On October 1, a tiny asteroid called 2025 TF flew by Earth at just 428km above Antarctica—closer than most satellites.
Only about one to three meters wide, it was moving at a wild 20.9km/s.
This is the second-closest asteroid flyby ever recorded.

Asteroid TF2025 was tracked by Europe's planetary defence office

Astronomers in Arizona discovered the asteroid less than six hours after its closest approach, and Europe's Planetary Defence Office tracked it closely too.
While rocks this size aren't really dangerous, they can create bright fireballs if they hit our atmosphere.

Comparison with ISS and previous closest approach

For comparison, the International Space Station orbits around 400km up—and in 2020, another asteroid (2020 VT4) came even closer at just 370km above Earth!