Last year, a tiny 2-meter-wide asteroid, 2025 TF, passed over Antarctica at just 428 kilometers—lower than the International Space Station—without being detected until afterward.

While harmless due to its small size, the close pass highlights that asteroid detection, though vastly improved, still has blind spots.

Data show near-Earth asteroid detections have surged: from 103 small asteroids (under 7 meters) spotted between 2000–2007 to 1,124 between 2017–2026, and 7–20 meter objects from 422 to 5,460.

Larger asteroids like the 200-meter 2025 FA22, capable of city-level destruction, still give limited warning; it was detected only six months before passing two lunar distances from Earth, Boing Boing has reported.

Future projects, including the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile and NASA NEO Surveyor set for 2027, aim to close detection gaps.