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Tag: asteroids
December 11, 2025
Science

NASA Monitors Bus-Sized Asteroid Nearing Earth.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: NASA is monitoring multiple asteroids, including a bus-sized asteroid called “2025 XF1,” which is expected to come within 195,000 miles of Earth.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) and Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The asteroid “2025 XF1” will make its closest approach on Saturday. Other asteroids are being monitored this week.

💬KEY QUOTE: “The ‘potentially hazardous’ designation simply means over many centuries and millennia the asteroid’s orbit may evolve into one that has a chance of impacting Earth.” – Paul Chodas, CNEOS manager

🎯IMPACT: NASA has concluded that none of the monitored asteroids pose a significant impact risk to Earth at this time.

IN FULL

A large, bus-sized asteroid named “2025 XF1” will pass within just 195,000 miles of Earth this Saturday. NASA says it is monitoring the asteroid, which is estimated to be 41 feet across, is traveling at nearly 8,000 miles per hour, according to the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The agency also says it is tracking a second, bus-sized rock, dubbed “2025 XK1,” which is set to come within 624,000 miles of Earth on Friday.

Additionally, NASA says two larger, plane-sized asteroids, “2020 WH20” and “2016 YH,” will also make fairly close—albeit less concerning—passes near Earth on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Asteroids are rocky and metallic remnants from the formation of the solar system, primarily located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Those classified as “near-Earth objects” have orbits bringing them within 120 million miles of the sun, while “potentially hazardous asteroids” (PHAs) are larger and come within 4.6 million miles of Earth’s orbit.

Conversely, comets—though similar to asteroids—are small objects composed of ice, dust, and small rocks that originate in the Kuiper belt or Oort Cloud on the outskirts of the solar system. As comets approach the inner solar system, the sun’s heat tends to vaporize comet material, causing the objects to develop a “glowing” atmosphere, making them far more visible to telescopes and even the naked eye than asteroids.

Earlier this year, NASA identified an asteroid, “2024 YR4,” with a 3.1 percent chance of impact in 2032—the highest probability ever recorded for an object of its size. However, further observations ruled out any significant risk.

Paul Chodas, manager of the CNEOS, notes the “potentially hazardous” label does not indicate an imminent threat: “The ‘potentially hazardous’ designation simply means over many centuries and millennia the asteroid’s orbit may evolve into one that has a chance of impacting Earth.”

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October 8, 2025
News
Science

An Undetected Asteroid Missed Earth by Just 300 Miles.

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❓WHAT HAPPENED: A 9.8-foot asteroid, named 2025 TF, passed within 300 miles of Earth, closer than the orbit of the International Space Station, and was only detected after it had passed.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The Catalina Sky Survey detected the asteroid, which was later observed by the European Space Agency’s Planetary Defence Office.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The asteroid flew over Antarctica on October 1, 2025, at 01:47:26 BST.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Objects of this size pose no significant danger. They can produce fireballs if they strike Earth’s atmosphere, and may result in the discovery of small meteorites on the ground.” – European Space Agency

🎯IMPACT: The incident highlighted the difficulty in detecting small space objects, raising concerns about planetary defense capabilities.

IN FULL

An asteroid measuring approximately 9.8 feet, named 2025 TF, flew within 300 miles of Earth on October 1, 2025. The space rock passed closer to the Earth than the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS), at an altitude of just 265 miles. However, scientists only detected the asteroid after it had already passed, with the Catalina Sky Survey identifying it hours later.

The European Space Agency (ESA) stated that 2025 TF posed no significant danger, as objects of its size would likely burn up or explode in the atmosphere rather than impact the surface. “Objects of this size pose no significant danger,” the ESA noted, though they acknowledged such objects can produce fireballs or result in small meteorites reaching the ground.

Following the asteroid’s passage, the ESA’s Planetary Defence Office used the Las Cumbres Observatory in Australia to observe the object. This allowed astronomers to refine their measurements, determining that the asteroid’s closest approach occurred precisely at 01:47:26 BST. Despite its proximity, there were no spacecraft or satellites in its path.

Despite its current public communication limitations due to a government shutdown, NASA has listed 2025 TF on its Center for Near-Earth Object Studies website. The asteroid is expected to make another close approach in 2087, though at a much safer distance of 3.7 million miles. Its small size, however, made it difficult to detect in advance, underscoring the challenges of tracking smaller near-Earth objects.

As of October 4, 2025, there were 39,585 known near-Earth asteroids, with 11,453 measuring over 460 feet in diameter. While most pose no immediate threat, incidents like this highlight the importance of advancing planetary defense systems.

NASA and ESA have conducted tests, such as the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), to explore methods of deflecting potential threats. However, experts emphasize the need for early detection to mitigate risks effectively.

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August 14, 2025
News
Science

NASA Is Monitoring a House-Sized Asteroid Nearing Earth.

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❓WHAT HAPPENED: NASA is tracking a house-sized asteroid, 2025 PR1, expected to pass Earth on August 16 at a speed of approximately 17,717 miles per hour.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and its Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

📍WHEN & WHERE: The asteroid will make its closest approach on Saturday, August 16, at a distance of 609,000 miles from Earth.

🎯IMPACT: While the asteroid poses no immediate threat, its tracking highlights NASA’s ongoing efforts to monitor near-Earth objects.

IN FULL

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is closely monitoring an asteroid designated 2025 PR1, which is expected to make a relatively close approach to Earth on August 16. Traveling at approximately 17,717 miles per hour, the asteroid is about 55 feet wide, roughly the size of a house, and will pass at a distance of 609,000 miles from our planet.

In addition to 2025 PR1, three more near-Earth asteroids are projected to pass by Earth in the coming week. On August 17, asteroid 2025 PM, comparable in size to an airplane, will come within 654,000 miles. Following that, on August 20, the stadium-sized asteroid 1997 QK1, measuring around 990 feet across, is expected to pass at a distance of 1,870,000 miles. That same day, another asteroid, 2025 OV4, about 160 feet wide, will make its closest approach at 1,800,000 miles.

NASA notes that small asteroids, up to about 30 feet across, typically enter Earth’s atmosphere roughly once per decade. These asteroids often produce bright fireballs and sonic booms but rarely cause serious damage.

Earlier this year, NASA identified a larger potential threat: asteroid 2024 YR4. Initially calculated to have a 3.1 percent chance of impacting Earth in 2032, the highest probability ever recorded for an object of its size, refined orbital projections now indicate it’s more likely to collide with the Moon in December 2032.

“Asteroid 2024 YR4 is now too far away to observe with either space or ground-based telescopes. NASA expects to make further observations when the asteroid’s orbit around the Sun brings it back into the vicinity of Earth in 2028,” NASA stated. Updated data also shows the probability of a Moon impact has slightly increased, from 3.8 percent to 4.3 percent. Even in the event of such a collision, NASA notes that it “would not alter its orbit.”

Meanwhile, scientists in South Korea have been analyzing the potential impact of asteroid Bennu, a much larger object, roughly 1,640 feet wide, with a one-in-2,700 chance of hitting Earth in September 2182. Their research suggests that such an impact could lead to catastrophic effects, including widespread wildfires, earthquakes, and atmospheric changes severe enough to cause significant global cooling and a reduction in photosynthesis for several years.

Image by Joe Loong.

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