Astronomers Withdraw 2018 CN41 After Identifying Musk's Tesla Roadster

2 articles · Updated · Supercar Blondie · Jul 17

Peter Veres of the Minor Planet Center said a Turkish amateur astronomer's Jan. 2, 2025 sighting was not a new near-Earth asteroid but Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster, and the temporary designation 2018 CN41 was withdrawn a day later.
The mix-up happened because the observer checked an artificial-satellite catalog that did not include the Roadster, which appears only as a tiny dot despite being a car launched by SpaceX in 2018.
Whereisroadster.com data cited in the report put the Roadster about 84 million miles from Earth and moving back toward it at more than 35,000 mph after drifting away from Mars and the Sun.
Scientists say the vehicle poses no practical danger: collision odds are estimated at about 6% within 1 million years, and it would mostly vaporize if it ever reentered Earth's atmosphere.