Asteroid zooms past Earth, flying lower than satellites, Space Station

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.

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