Remember September scare? Now another asteroid is close to earth

A small asteroid that astronomers only discovered two days ago is set to make a remarkably close flyby of Earth today, passing even closer than the moon. However, unlike the Nostradamus predictions and the scare of the last asteroid, this one will be perfectly safe!

Designated 2025 TP5, the asteroid was first detected early on October 13 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) at the University of Hawaii’s Mauna Kea observatory. Despite passing relatively close to Earth decades ago, in 1979, it had remained undetected until now.

Also read: What are the chances an asteroid will impact Earth in 2032?

According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), TP5 will make its closest approach at 4:09 PM EDT (2009 UTC) on Wednesday, October 15, coming within 60,328 miles (97,089 kilometers) of Earth. For context, the average distance to the moon is about 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers), making this flyby roughly a quarter of that span.

After today’s near-Earth pass, the asteroid will swing by the moon on Thursday, October 16, getting as close as 74,616 miles (120,084 kilometers) from its surface.

At roughly 54 feet (16 meters) in diameter, TP5 is similar in size to the Chelyabinsk meteor that exploded over Russia in 2013, which caused widespread damage but no fatalities. Despite its size and proximity, NASA and astronomers confirm that the asteroid poses no threat to Earth.

ATLAS, a NASA-funded early-warning system designed to detect potentially hazardous asteroids, was instrumental in the discovery. Although NASA operations are limited due to a government shutdown, monitoring of near-Earth objects (NEOs) is classified as a critical function and continues uninterrupted.

Thanks to modern advancements in observation technology, astronomers now detect dozens of small asteroids making close approaches each month. One such object earlier this October passed within just 250 miles of Earth, closer than the orbit of the International Space Station.

SKYSCRAPER-SIZED ASTEROID PASSED BY EARTH IN SEPTEMBER

Earlier this year, in September, an enormous asteroid, roughly the size of a skyscraper, made a close approach to Earth in the early hours of September 18.

Named 2025 FA22, the asteroid was first spotted in March by astronomers using a specialised telescope in Hawaii. Early observations led to it being temporarily listed on the European Space Agency’s (ESA) risk table. However, after further analysis, experts ruled out any chance of collision.

That, however, did not stop the netizens from drawing parallels to Nostradamus’ prediction that in 2025, a gigantic asteroid, ominously dubbed the “Harbinger of Fate,” will come dangerously close to colliding with Earth. In his own words, “From the cosmos, a fireball will rise, A harbinger of fate, the world pleads. Science and fate in a cosmic dance, The fate of the Earth, a second chance.”

Also read: Life on other planets? NASA Mars rover comes through…

Traveling through space at over 24,000 miles per hour (38,600 km/h), the asteroid was estimated to be between 427 and 951 feet (130 to 290 meters) wide, the asteroid did come under the category of objects that could cause devastating destruction if they were ever to strike Earth, potentially leveling cities and triggering tsunamis or widespread fires.

NASA and ESA data also show the asteroid will return for additional flybys in 2089 and 2173, though current models continue to show no risk of impact in the foreseeable future.