One of largest asteroids in 2025 passes by Earth

MOSCOW -- Asteroid 2025 FA22, one of the largest of its kind to approach Earth this year, passed by safely on Thursday, according to Russian scientists.

The asteroid is listed among potentially hazardous celestial bodies, TASS news agency reported, citing the solar astronomy laboratory of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

At 10:41 am local time (0741 GMT), the asteroid passed Earth and the Moon at a minimum calculated distance of about 800,000 km — roughly twice the distance to the Moon — before continuing on its path away from the planet.

Scientists noted that the asteroid poses no immediate threat. Its next approach is expected in August 2036, at a distance 25 times greater than this flyby. Closer encounters, which scientists consider worthy of special monitoring, are projected for 2089 and 2173.