Astronomers have witnessed the second-closest asteroid fly-by ever measured. Or at least we think they have, with government shutdowns preventing NASA from releasing a statement. Luckily, the European Space Agency is still on the ball and caught it. Once again, however, we only noticed the visitor after it had already passed us. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Not long after midnight, Universal Time, on October 1, the still-to-be-discovered asteroid 2025 TF passed the Earth at a reported distance of 6,790 kilometers (4,330 miles), according to The Watchers . That doesn’t sound particularly close, until you realize the distance was measured from the center of the Earth, not the surface.

Even allowing for the planet’s

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