2025 FA22 was discovered using the Pan-STARRS 2 telescope in March this year.
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A near-Earth asteroid the size of two football fields end-to-end is to have a relatively close encounter with Earth on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, according to scientists.
It will be a perfectly safe flyby at 523,000 miles (842,000 kilometers) —twice the average Earth-moon distance — but for such a large object to come so close to Earth is rare.
Asteroid 2025 FA22’s Close Encounter
“While this is an absolutely safe approach, it is still remarkable: a similarly close encounter, involving an object of that size coming that close, happens on average one time every 10 years,” said astronomer Gianluca Masi at The Virtual Telescope Project, in an email, referencing the JPL Center for NEO Studies.
Called 2025 FA22, the near-Earth asteroid is 530 feet (158 meters) in diameter, according to JPL, which lists the “potentially hazardous object” on its Next Five Asteroid Approaches web page.
Will Asteroid 2025 FA22 Hit Earth?
According to the European Space Agency, 2025 FA22 was discovered using the Pan-STARRS 2 telescope in March this year. It was initially thought that the asteroid was on a trajectory that could impact Earth in 2089, and was immediately installed at the top of ESA’s Risk List. However, it was removed from that list in May after its orbit was recalculated using data from multiple follow-up observations.
According to the Earth Impact Effects Program calculator, developed by Imperial College in London, U.K., a stony asteroid the size of 2025 FA22 could cause a crater 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) wide.
Asteroid 2025 FA22 will safely pass Earth on 18 September 2025 at 07:41 UTC (09:41 CEST). It is between 130 and 290 m across and at its closest point to our planet, it will be just over twice as far away as the Moon.
ESA
How And When To See Asteroid 2025 FA22
2025 FA22 will reach magnitude 13.2 between Sept. 18 and 22, bright enough to be seen by even small backyard telescopes. The Virtual Telescope Project will host an online observation on Sept. 18, beginning at 03:00 UTC (Sept. 17 at 10:00 p.m. EST), during which it will stream live images from robotic telescopes in Manciano, Tuscany, Italy.
The Night Sky This Week
2025 FA22 will safely fly by Earth on the same day as a delicate crescent moon shines above Venus an hour before sunrise, with bright star Regulus in Leo nearby. The latter two points of light will be extremely close 24 hours later, before sunrise on Sept. 19. It’s part of a fast-disappearing planet parade that also includes Jupiter and Saturn as naked-eye worlds.
Saturn will be shining brightly because it’s on the cusp of its annual opposition on Sept. 21, when it rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. On the same day is a new moon, which in the Southern Hemisphere will cause a solar eclipse as sunrise seen only from New Zealand, Antarctica and the western South Pacific region.
Wishing you wide eyes and clear skies.