A two-meter asteroid recently executed an exceptionally close flyby of Earth, as reported by the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy at the Institute of Space Research (IKI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The celestial body passed at a distance precisely where many navigation satellites typically orbit.
Designated 2025 SU4, this small asteroid zoomed past our planet on September 24, a Wednesday, at 11:30 AM Moscow time. Its closest approach brought it to just over 20,000 kilometers from Earth, an altitude comparable to that of GLONASS and GPS satellites.
Scientists were able to detect the asteroid less than 24 hours before its close encounter. Despite the remarkably near trajectory, experts confirmed that 2025 SU4 posed no threat to Earth. Nevertheless, this event served as a stark reminder of the significant density of small celestial bodies populating the inner solar system and underscored the potential for their unheralded appearance in Earth`s vicinity.
Furthermore, the asteroid 2025 SU4 has been classified as a member of the Aten family. According to current data, this group encompasses approximately 3,000 celestial objects, of which around 200 are presently considered potentially hazardous asteroids.
