A rare near-Earth asteroid, 2024 YC, safely passed by our planet on December 22nd. At its closest point, it came within 461,000 kilometers of Earth, which is about 160% of the average lunar distance.
The Virtual Telescope Project captured this remarkable event using a robotic telescope unit, tracking the asteroid’s fast motion to reveal a sharp dot of light in the center of the image. The team took a single 120-second exposure, which also showed stars leaving long, bright streaks on the background.
This 9-20 meter large asteroid reached its minimum distance from Earth at approximately 461,000 kilometers away. Fortunately, there were no risks associated with this close encounter.
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Source: https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/2024/12/23/near-earth-asteroid-2024-yc-close-encounter-an-image-21-dec-2024