Asteroid 2025 FA22 bids farewell to Earth LIVE

Asteroid 2025 FA22 bids farewell to Earth, but without any risk : on September 18, at 9:42 a.m. Italian time, it passes at a safe distance of approximately 842,000 kilometers , just over twice the average distance of the Moon. It is nevertheless an interesting event : an approach by an asteroid of this size, between 120 and 280 meters , within that distance, occurs approximately once every ten years . Discovered in March 2025 thanks to the Pan-Starrs 2 surveillance system, located on the Haleakala volcano in Hawaii, 2025 FA22 is one of the Apollo asteroids , which include objects potentially hazardous to Earth. Initial observations indicated a small probability that it could hit our planet in 2089 , but data collected subsequently allowed it to be removed from the list of asteroids at risk of impact. Enthusiasts will be able to follow the flyby thanks to the Virtual Telescope Project's live stream, which will be visible on the website starting at 5:00 AM Italian time on September 18th. The observations will be conducted using robotic telescopes installed in Manciano, in the province of Grosseto, under the purest, light-polluted sky on the Italian peninsula. They will be commentated by astrophysicist Gianluca Masi, scientific director of the Virtual Telescope and coordinator for Italy of Asteroid Day, the World Asteroid Day celebrated every year on June 30th.