Small & Stealthy: Asteroid Whizzes Past Earth Undetected

The asteroid reportedly approached Earth from the direction of the Sun – escaping detection by astronomers.

A relatively small asteroid passed by our planet on Sunday with no advance warning, CNET reports.

Unlike some of the massive space rocks that made headlines in recent years, asteroid 2021 UA1 is only two metres in diameter and the majority of it would have likely burned up in the atmosphere if it had collided with our planet.

According to the media outlet, the asteroid passed Earth above Antarctica at an altitude of approximately 3,000 kilometres – closer than communications satellites in geostationary orbit but higher than the orbit of the International Space Staton (ISS).

The space rock approached our planet from the direction of the Sun, which meant astronomers missed its approach, with CNET noting that future missions like NASA’s NEO Surveyor space-based infrared telescope are supposed to deal with this “blind spot.”