A car-sized asteroid with a fittingly spooky nickname is making a close pass by Earth late tonight. Asteroid 2025 UK9, dubbed the “ghost rock,” is predicted to pass about 231,000 miles away, which is actually closer than the Moon’s average distance of roughly 239,000 miles. Before anyone panics, meteorologist Ric Kearbey at WWSB says tonight’s flyby is nothing to worry about.
The ghost nickname comes honestly. Astronomers first spotted the object last October, then it grew too faint to track and vanished from their view. That gap means the exact timing and distance of tonight’s pass carry a bit of uncertainty, though the encounter itself is predicted to be safe.
If you’re planning to scan the sky from the beach, manage expectations: 2025 UK9 is too faint to see without a telescope. The real fun is just knowing something the size of a sedan is slipping past us in the dark. So, are you stepping outside tonight to look up anyway?
