The asteroid, called 2020 XR, made its closest approach today at approximately 12:26 a.m. EST (0526 GMT), passing just under six times the distance between Earth and the moon. The flyby came on the fourth anniversary of 2020 XR's discovery,.

An asteroid is expected to make a “close pass” to Earth next month. In October, NASA confirmed that the asteroid, dubbed 2024 PT5, was first observed in August by the Sutherland, South Africa telescope of the University of Hawai’i’s Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS).

C0WEPC5, as the asteroid has been temporarily named, entered Earth's atmosphere at 1:15 a.m. local time on Dec. 4 over Russia's remote Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia, in northeastern Siberia. Local officials were placed on alert, the Sakha emergencies ministry noted, but no damage was reported during the event.