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On January 3, Asteroid 2025 AB made a close pass by Earth, coming within just 1,53,000 kilometres.
The asteroid was roughly the size of a bus. (Representative Image)
Asteroid 2025 AB, a 42-foot Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA), made a close approach to Earth on January 3. It reportedly came within just 1,53,000 kilometres—less than half the distance to the Moon. Roughly the size of a bus, asteroids like 2025 AB are common but their proximity provides scientists and skywatchers valuable opportunities for observation and research.
Classified as a Near-Earth Object (NEO), 2025 AB is part of a group that includes asteroids and comets orbiting the Sun within 1.3 astronomical units (AU) of Earth, equivalent to approximately 45 million kilometres. Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) are categorised into four groups: Atira, Aten, Apollo and Amor. Asteroid 2025 AB belongs to the Aten group, named after the asteroid 2062 Aten, discovered in 1976 by Eleanor Helin.
As of 2024, 2,062 Aten asteroids have been identified, with 191 classified as potentially hazardous. Aten asteroids are characterised by a semi-major axis—average distance from the Sun—of less than 1.0 astronomical unit (AU), which is the distance between Earth and the Sun. Additionally, their aphelion, or farthest point from the Sun, exceeds 0.983 AU.
Talking about asteroids, Jay Tate, the director of the Spaceguard Center observatory in the UK, told Newsweek, “Asteroids are ‘bits of a planet that didn’t happen’ that orbit the Sun between Mars and Jupiter in the Main Asteroid Belt. However, as they are relatively small, asteroids can be disturbed quite easily, so they can develop orbits that cross those of planets.”
Meanwhile, Franck Marchis, a senior planetary astronomer at the SETI Institute, added, “We believe they formed in the asteroid belt and got ejected by impact or their orbits were destabilized due to the presence of Jupiter resonances in the belt.”
According to reports, asteroids vary greatly in size, ranging from massive ones up to 329 miles wide to smaller ones around 30 feet. While asteroids like 2025 AB may pass close to Earth, the likelihood of them colliding with our planet remains extremely low.
