An asteroid made an exceptionally close flyby, passing just 300 kilometres above Antarctica’s icy surface.
Known as C15KM95, this tiny space rock zipped past Earth on October 1, at an altitude much lower than most near-Earth objects ever approach and even below the orbits of many satellites, including skimming just beneath the path of the International Space Station (ISS).
Discovered only hours before it came close, C15KM95 measures less than two meters in diameter and posed no risk to life or property.
However, its close approach highlighted the rare event of an asteroid crossing through near-Earth space at such a low altitude.
Satellites in low Earth orbit usually cruise around 340 kilometers above the planet, while the ISS orbits even higher at approximately 400 kilometers.
Though the asteroid’s path came closer than the ISS orbit, experts quickly confirmed there was no danger of a collision. The ISS does not orbit over Antarctica, so the asteroid and station were never on a potential collision course.
This near miss also exposed a key challenge in planetary defense: the late discovery of such a close asteroid.
C15KM95’s detection came hours before its closest approach, giving very less time for warning or tracking. Small near-Earth objects like this one, often dark and hard to spot until very near, remain difficult to monitor despite advances in asteroid detection systems.
While C15KM95 likely would have burned up harmlessly if it had entered Earth’s atmosphere, such close flybys emphasise how, on rare occasions, objects can pass through regions populated by human satellites and raise awareness about the importance of improving early asteroid detection.
For the scientific community, this close shave presents an opportunity to sharpen monitoring techniques and raise preparedness for future encounters. As humanity’s reliance on satellites grows, understanding and tracking Earth’s cosmic neighborhood becomes ever more crucial.
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