Overview
- IKI RAN reported the object passed Earth and the Moon at its minimal calculated distance and is now moving away.
- The approach occurred at a range slightly greater than the diameter of the Moon’s orbit, according to the institute.
- Measurements place the asteroid at roughly 130 by 290 meters, with a mass about 1,000 times that of the Chelyabinsk meteor.
- Discovered in March, 2025 FA22 had topped the European Space Agency’s list of potentially hazardous objects before risk estimates fell ahead of the flyby.
- The asteroid is expected to reach about 15th magnitude on September 20–21, visible only in telescopes of roughly 30 centimeters aperture or larger, and its next pass on August 20, 2026 will be about 25 times farther.