[Update: October 13: Asteroid 2010 TD54 flew within the orbit of the moon on Oct. 11 while astronomers watched to see if the encounter caused any quakes on the space rock. It was flying over Southeast Asia, near Singapore, at the time. Astronomers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston used a remote link with a NASA Infrared Telescope Facility in Hawaii to observe the small asteroid.

Past studies have shown that close encounters with Earth can cause quakes on nearby asteroids that move surface material around, altering their appearance.]

Newly-discovered asteroid 2010 TD54 will fly by Earth on Tuesday, Oct. 12th, about 46,000 km above the planet’s surface. At closest approach, it will shine like a 14th magnitude star as it races through the constellations Pisces and Aquarius. There is no danger of a collision. The asteroid is estimated to be somewhere between 20 and 33 feet in diameter.

There was no risk of the asteroid entering Earth’s atmosphere or exploding, and it is too small to survive the fiery entry even if it did.

Asteroid 2010 TD54 was discovered Oct. 9 by astronomers with the NASA-sponsored Catalina Sky Survey in Tucson, Ariz.

Small asteroids that are previously unknown, like 2010 TD54, often pass by Earth.

An asteroid about 16.5 feet across is expected to pass Earth inside the orbit of the moon about once a day, NASA scientists said. They typically enter Earth’s atmosphere once every two years or so. There are an estimated 30 million unknown asteroids in our solar system.

NASA regularly tracks asteroids and comets that fly near Earth as part of its Near-Earth Object Observations program, which uses a network of ground and space telescopes. The program has tracked 85 percent of the largest asteroids that fly near Earth and 15 percent of asteroids in the 460-foot class, according to the latest report. Asteroids about 460 feet wide can cause widespread damage around their impact sites, but for global devastation much larger space rocks would have to strike Earth.


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