, also written as 2005 NB56, is a near-Earth object

Near-Earth object

A near-Earth object is a Solar System object whose orbit brings it into close proximity with the Earth. All NEOs have a perihelion distance less than 1.3 AU. They include a few thousand near-Earth asteroids , near-Earth comets, a number of solar-orbiting spacecraft, and meteoroids large enough to...

. This small body has been suggested as a possible source of the Tunguska event

Tunguska event

The Tunguska event, or Tunguska blast or Tunguska explosion, was an enormously powerful explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in what is now Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, at about 7:14 a.m...

 on June 30, 1908.

Controversial study

One study "suggests that a chunk of a comet

Comet

A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...

 caused the 5-10 megaton fireball

Fireball

A fireball is a somewhat spherical mass of fire, such that is caused by an explosion or a firestorm.It may also refer to:- Science and technology :* Ryan FR Fireball, an American aircraft* Fireball , a sailing boat...

, bouncing off the atmosphere and back into orbit around the sun

Sun

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...

."

This object made a close approach to Earth when it was discovered in 2005 and will do so again in 2045. This object has a poorly known orbit and was only observed over an observation arc of 17 days.

External links

• Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Ephemeris