The asteroid flew a record close to Earth. And nobody knew about him



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Asteroid 2020 VT4, according to Phys.org, observed the ATLAS system at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii in the early morning hours of Saturday November 14, just 15 hours after its approach to Earth.

This is not uncommon for fast-moving subjects, especially asteroids flying to Earth from a blind spot, where they cannot be seen due to the Sun, as is the case with 2020 VT4.

The size of this asteroid is estimated to be between 5 and 10 meters. At the same time, it set a record in the closest known flight around the Earth.

It thus surpassed the recent recorder, which until now was the asteroid 2020 HQ. It flew on August 16 at a distance of 3,000 kilometers from the earth’s surface.

Unfortunately, the close flyby of asteroid 2020 VT4, just 400 kilometers from Earth, appears to have gone unnoticed.

The International Space Station (ISS) also orbits at the same height above the Earth’s surface. Fortunately, Flight VT4 2020 did not damage any satellites, including the ISS.

VT4 2020 will visit the nearest Earth on November 13, 2052, with a much more distant flyby of 0.02 AU (1.8 million miles).

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