On Sunday, asteroid 2021 TG14 made a close approach to Earth, passing within less than 250,000 km. For context, the Moon orbits at an average of about 385,000 km from our planet. Fortunately, this small space rock posed no threat to humanity.
In 2005, the U.S. Congress tasked NASA with identifying and tracking 90% of near-Earth objects (NEOs) at least 140 meters wide in the inner Solar System. As of two years ago, NASA had cataloged around 40% of the estimated 25,000 such objects. This visitor, roughly the size of a minivan and dubbed 2021 TG14, flew by at approximately 250,000 km, well below that threshold.
Though harmless, the flyby offered astronomers a valuable chance to study this ancient relic. Asteroids are remnants of the early Solar System—fragments of icy and rocky bodies that predated planet formation.
This event coincides with heightened interest in asteroids, both in science and pop culture. On October 16, NASA launched the Lucy mission, a 12-year journey to examine up to eight Trojan asteroids trailing and leading Jupiter in its orbit around the Sun—objects never before studied up close.
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, aimed at returning samples from asteroid Bennu, is on track with its capsule slated to return to Earth in 2023. Meanwhile, the Psyche mission, targeting a metal-rich asteroid, is set to launch in 2022.
Recently, U.S. researchers simulated planetary defense scenarios reminiscent of the film Armageddon, concluding that fragmenting an incoming asteroid would be the most effective response.
The United Arab Emirates has also announced plans for an asteroid landing mission in the early 2030s.
In entertainment, Netflix's black comedy Don't Look Up, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jonah Hill, premieres in December. It follows two discredited astronomers warning the world of an impending comet strike.
