Meteorite passes through Earth's satellite belt

A three-metre-wide asteroid has passed Earth at a distance 20 times closer than the Moon and was only detected by astronomers six hours before its closest pass.

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2017 EA, a small asteroid, flew past Earth at an altitude of 14,500 km above the eastern Pacific Ocean, passing closest at 9:04 p.m. on March 2, Vietnam time, according to Sun.

Scientists at the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona, US, discovered asteroid 2017 EA just six hours before its closest approach to Earth. The three-meter-wide asteroid passed through Earth's geostationary satellite belt.

2017 EA was seen by several ground-based observatories before disappearing into space. According to astronomers, its orbit was predicted quite accurately.

According to VNE