Near-Earth object atmosphere, passing Earth's surface only away (about one Earth radius or one-sixtieth of the distance to the Moon). Because it was very small (6 meters/20 feet), FU was detected only hours before its closest approach. If it had collided with Earth, it probably would have disintegrated harmlessly in the atmosphere. On February 4, 2011, an asteroid designated , estimated at in diameter, passed within of the Earth, setting a new record for closest approach without impact, which still stands . On November 8, 2011, asteroid , relatively large at about in diameter, passed within (0.85 lunar distances) of Earth. On
Campo Imperatore Near-Earth Object Survey Campo Imperatore Near-Earth Object Survey The CINEOS program (Campo Imperatore Near-Earth Object Survey), started in 2001, is dedicated to the discovery and follow-up of near-Earth objects (NEOs), namely asteroids and comets which periodically approach or intersect the Earth's orbit. In particular CINEOS is addressed to the discovery of Atens and Interior-Earth Objects (IEOs) by extending survey coverage at small solar elongations, and to the discovery of the other kind of NEOs by observing with longer exposures (up to a limiting magnitude of 21) in the opposition region. Between August 2001 and November 2004, CINEOS measured more than 61000 asteroid positions