A newly discovered space rock about 6.5 feet (2 meters) across passed by Earth today at a distance five times closer than the orbit of a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite, and the small asteroid, called C9FMVU2, was spotted just a few hours before it approached the earth.
The space rock passed the planet within just 2,500 miles (4,000 km), about 1% of the distance between Earth and the Moon.
The European Space Agency (ESA) said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the asteroid is so small that it did not pose any danger to Earth.
If the asteroid had hit the planet, it would have burned up in Earth’s atmosphere, causing a fireball, and some small fragments would likely have reached the planet’s surface.
According to Richard Muesel, head of ESA’s Planetary Defense Division, a close pass would significantly alter the asteroid’s path due to Earth’s gravity.
C9FMVU2 was too small for amateur astronomers to see, and so far astronomers have discovered more than 30,000 near-Earth asteroids, which are space rocks hurtling through space close to Earth’s orbit. Of these, only about 2,300 are considered dangerous, according to For NASA.
An asteroid must be larger than 460 feet (140 meters) across and follow an orbit that takes it within 20 lunar distances of Earth to receive the official “potentially hazardous” designation.
However, even much smaller asteroids can cause widespread devastation if they strike the planet. For example, the shock wave from the impact of the only 65-foot-wide (20-meter) Chelyabinsk asteroid, which exploded in the sky over southern Russia in 2013, Thousands of windows were shattered, and about 1,400 people were injured by flying glass fragments.
Astronomers are working to map the number of space rocks close to our planet to ensure humanity won’t be caught off guard by an unexpected collision.
Also, if a potentially dangerous rock is on a collision course with Earth, global space agencies will attempt to divert the approaching asteroid.
