Asteroid Makes Closest Approach by ‘Known Near-Earth Object’ Ever Recorded

An asteroid that was only discovered five days ago by an amateur astronomer made an extraordinarily close pass by Earth Thursday—flying even closer than some satellites.

Described by NASA as “about the size of a box truck,” the asteroid, dubbed 2023 BU, flew over the southern tip of South America just before 7:30 p.m. ET, according to the BBC. Science Correspondent Jonathan Amos called it a “close shave,” with the asteroid’s closest distance from the Earth’s surface coming at some 2,200 miles. NASA said it would be “well within the orbit of geosynchronous satellites,” which hover up to 22,000 miles above.

The space rock was discovered Jan. 21 by Gennadiy Borisov, an amateur astronomer from Nauchnyi, Crimea, a peninsula of Ukraine that was seized by Russia in 2014. It is expected the asteroid will not pass Earth again until 2036. NASA eased fears in a statement before its arrival, assuring that there was no risk of the asteroid impacting Earth. “But even if it did, this small asteroid – estimated to be 11.5 to 28 feet across – would turn into a fireball and largely disintegrate harmlessly in the atmosphere, with some of the bigger debris potentially falling as small meteorites.”