Astronomers red-faced after mistaking Musk's Tesla Roadster for asteroid

[Rick]

Astronomers red-faced after mistaking Musk's Tesla Roadster for asteroid
Without central repository for artificial objects, it'll only get worse

Scientists mistook Elon Musk's Tesla roadster for an asteroid in a debacle that highlights the problem of tracking near-Earth objects.

Discovery of the suspected asteroid was announced in the Minor Planet Electronic Circular on January 2. However, the entry was swiftly deleted when space boffins realized it was actually the Tesla roadster launched on SpaceX's first Falcon Heavy mission.

Less than a day after the announcement, an editorial notice was published notifying readers of the whoopsie: "The designation 2018 CN41, announced in MPEC 2025-A38 on Jan 2, 2025 UT, is being deleted. The object was reported throught [sic] the identifications pipeline as a 3-nighter linkage found in the isolated tracklet file and more tracklets were linked in the ITF, leading to a small object on a heliocentric NEO orbit.

More: https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/27/elon_musk_tesla_asteroid/