Asteroid 50 m likely to crash into Earth

Asteroid 2023 DW could hit Earth in February 2046, although the risk of impact is very low.

Simulation of an asteroid flying towards the Earth. Photo: Science Photo Library

A newly discovered asteroid called 2023 DW could fly extremely close to Earth for more than 20 years. The chance of this meteor hitting the planet directly is 1 in 600, according to NASA's Office of the Coordination of Planetary Defense. While that's a higher-than-average risk for a near-Earth asteroid, NASA stressed the chance of a collision is still very small. It is expected that the risk will decrease as more observations of the asteroid 2023 DW become available.

First discovered on February 27, 2023 DW has an estimated diameter of 50 m, equivalent to the length of an Olympic swimming pool. The asteroid will pass close to Earth on February 14, 2046. As of March 8, the Center for Near-Earth Object Coordination predicts a 1/625 chance of a direct collision.

"Normally when new objects are first detected, several weeks of data processing are needed to reduce uncertainty and predict their future trajectory. Orbital analysts will continue to monitor the asteroid. planet 2023 DW and update predictions as more data becomes available," NASA said.

A direct collision with such an asteroid does not cause great damage, but the 12 km asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, crashed into Earth 66 million years ago. However, 2023 DW can still cause serious damage if dropped near a large city or densely populated area. A meteor less than half the size of 2023 DW exploded above Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013, creating a shockwave that destroyed thousands of buildings and injured 1,500 people.

Although a collision with 2023 DW is unlikely, scientists are rapidly developing methods to protect Earth from the dangerous asteroid. Earlier, a team of NASA scientists published four studies confirming the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission successfully changed the flight path of a small asteroid after a spacecraft directly hit it. It. The ongoing serial missions will seek to increase the effectiveness of this planetary defense technique.