An asteroid with a striking skull-like shape passed by Earth on Halloween in 2015, and NASA gave the space rock a playful nickname: the Great Pumpkin. The flyby drew attention because of the object's unusual appearance, which prompted comparisons to a skull on a day already associated with ghoulish imagery.
The asteroid was observed as it made its approach, and the timing of the encounter gave the space agency an opening to pair a serious scientific observation with a seasonal name. The nickname reflected the public interest that close encounters can generate, even though the object posed no threat to the planet. Naming conventions of this kind are informal and do not alter the object's official designation in astronomical catalogs.
Close approaches by near-Earth asteroids are tracked by NASA and other observatories as part of efforts to catalog objects that travel through the inner solar system. Scientists rely on radar and optical observations to measure an asteroid's size, rotation and orbit. That information helps determine how closely a body comes to Earth and whether future passes warrant closer study. Each well-observed flyby adds to the record that planetary defense researchers use to assess long-term risks.
The Great Pumpkin flyby is recalled in a series of Space.com features that mark notable events from past dates in space exploration. The format highlights how milestones from earlier years continue to inform current research, and how routine tracking of near-Earth objects can also produce moments that capture broader public curiosity. The 2015 encounter stands as one example of that combination of scientific monitoring and popular attention.