Asteroid 2019 AS5 flew past Earth at a very close distance of 0.04 LD
A newly discovered asteroid designated 2019 AS5 flew past Earth at a very close distance of 0.04 LD / 0.00010 AU (14 959 km / 9 295 miles) on January 8, 2019. This is the 1st known asteroid to flyby Earth within 1 lunar distance this year and the closest since February 24, 2018.
This is a small asteroid, first observed at Mt. Lemmon Survey 9 hours after it flew past us.
It belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids and has an estimated diameter between 0.94 and 2.1 m (3.1 - 6.8 feet).
The asteroid flew past Earth at a speed (relative to the Earth) of 12.52 km/s at 00:37 UTC on January 8.
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