Small asteroid detected 4 days after passing as close as satellites | Science Wire | EarthSky Bottom line: On March 15, astronomers detected an asteroid – now labeled 2016 EF195 – that had passed closest to Earth on March 11. It passed at about 23,900 miles (38,463 km) from the surface of our planet, or about 0.1 the Earth-moon distance. That’s about the distance of some satellites.