{
  "id": 17406963,
  "title": "On this day in space! Oct. 31, 2015: Creepy skull-shaped Halloween asteroid flies by Earth, NASA names it the 'Great Pumpkin'",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/on-this-day-in-space-oct-31-2015-creepy-skull-shaped-halloween",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-31T13:26:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Space.com",
    "slug": "space-com",
    "url": "https://www.space.com/space-exploration/on-this-day-in-space-october-31-2026"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Halloween night of 2015, an asteroid resembling a human skull whizzed by Earth, earning the nickname \"Great Pumpkin\" from NASA. The eerie cosmic visitor came within 300,000 miles of our planet, or about one and a half times the distance between Earth and the moon. Thankfully, it posed no threat to our planet. First spotted by astronomers at Hawaii's Pan-STARRS observatory three weeks prior to the flyby, the asteroid received its official designation, 2015 TB145. Radar images of the asteroid were captured for the first time by the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico just before Halloween, giving it its \"Great Pumpkin\" moniker. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory reported that this is the closest known approach by an object of this size until asteroid 1999 AN10, which will pass at about 1 lunar distance in August 2027. While the \"Great Pumpkin\" didn't cause any alarm, it serves as a reminder of the importance of monitoring near-Earth objects to detect potential threats to our planet.",
  "summary": "On October 31, 2015, an asteroid shaped like a human skull flew by Earth. Here's why it was so creepy.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Ars Technica",
        "title": "Think you can save the Hubble Space Telescope? NASA wants to know.",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/think-you-can-save-the-hubble-space-telescope-nasa-wants-to-know",
        "published": "2026-10-31T00:07:22.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "9to5Mac",
        "title": "Apple Maps begins blurring NASA, Space Force, and Air Force bases",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/apple-maps-begins-blurring-nasa-space-force-and-air-force-bases",
        "published": "2026-10-31T15:42:14.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}