Small near-Earth asteroids are important targets of study because not much is known about them. By characterizing the smallest of the bunch, scientists can better understand the population of objects from which they originate: large asteroids, which have a much smaller likelihood of impacting Earth. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Astronomers have obtained observations of the smallest asteroid ever characterized in detail. At 6 feet in diameter, the tiny space rock is small enough to be straddled by a person in a hypothetical space-themed sequel to the iconic bomb-riding scene in the movie “Dr. Strangelove.” Interestingly, the asteroid, named 2015 TC25, is also one of the brightest near-Earth asteroids ever discovered...
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