Passed near the southernmost point of South America at 03:27 CEST, 2023.
The asteroid thus came much closer to the Earth than satellites that usually travel 36,000 kilometers away.
The asteroid was spotted by amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov from the Crimea last weekend.
The American National Space and Aviation Administration (NASA) announced that the asteroid does not pose a danger to the Earth.
The asteroid, which is calculated to be 3.5 meters by 8.5 meters in size, would break up into a large fireball in the atmosphere even if it went through an orbit that would hit the Earth.
The asteroid named Chelyabinsk, which crashed into the Earth’s atmosphere in the south of Russia in 2013, was close to 20 meters in diameter, and the impact of the impact created shock waves strong enough to shatter the windows.
According to NASA, 2023 BU getting this close to Earth will cause its orbit around the Sun to shift.
It is stated that its orbit, which is almost round before approaching the Earth and normally completes in 359 days, will turn into an oval due to the gravitational force of the Earth and will complete it in 425 days.
Most of the large asteroids that are likely to pass close to Earth and cause damage have been detected.
The asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs is thought to be about 12 kilometers in diameter.
However, it was determined how much risk only 40 percent of asteroids with a diameter of 150 meters pose.
If struck, they could damage areas the size of a city.
Professor Don Pollacco, from the University of Warwick in England, says that there are still undiscovered asteroids orbiting the Earth, and that 2023 BU was also discovered recently, but that it had passed through this orbit perhaps thousands of times before this discovery, and adds:
“Due to the composition of 2023 BU, this asteroid will not be able to reach the Earth’s surface; it will burn through the atmosphere like a fireball brighter than the full moon.”
“However, there may be many as yet undiscovered asteroids that could enter the atmosphere and cause major damage.”