A 200-foot asteroid is expected to pass closer to Earth than the moon on Saturday, NASA confirmed.
ratpack223/Getty Images/iStockphotoA newly discovered, 200-foot asteroid will come super close to our planet on Saturday. Dubbed 2023 DZ2, the space rock is expected to safely pass by Earth at less than half the distance of the moon, according to Earth Sky. Its closest approach is set to occur at around 2:51 p.m. CT.
First detected by astronomers at the observatory of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain in late February and first announced on March 16, 2023, DZ2 is currently estimated to be 210 feet in diameter, per Earth Sky. However, its true size could range between 141 and 312 feet in diameter. Classified as a Near Earth Object, the asteroid orbits the Sun every 3.16 years and traveling at a speed of 17,403 miles per hour, which is relatively slow compared to other asteroids astronomers have studied.
"While close approaches are a regular occurrence, one by an asteroid of this size (140-310 ft) happens only about once per decade, providing a unique opportunity for science," tweeted NASA Asteroid Watch on Tuesday. Astronomers with the International Asteroid Warning Network are using the close approach to learn as much as possible about the asteroid, which is good practice for if there's a potential asteroid threat in the future.
Asteroid 2023 DZ2 is expected to pass by Earth at less than half the distance of the moon on Saturday.
NASAStargazers wanting to observe the visitor will have the best opportunity to see the 2023 DZ2 on Friday evening using a six-inch or larger telescopes from the Northern Hemisphere. Per Earth Sky, it should appear as a "slow-moving star" passing in front of the fixed stars in the sky above the southeastern horizon, east of the constellations Orion, Canis Major and Canis Minor. The Virtual Telescope Project is also hosting a live stream of the asteroid at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday.
Per Earth Sky, 2023 DZ2 is three times larger than an asteroid that entered over Chelyabinsk, Russia in February 2013. That asteroid—which was around 65 feet long—exploded after entering Earth's atmosphere, carrying 20 to 30 times the energy of the Hiroshima atomic bomb, according to Earth Sky. The shock wave blew out windows, knocked down parts of buildings in six Russian cities, and injured 1,500 people (mostly from flying glass).
Thankfully, 2023 DZ2 will remain about 107,500 miles away from Earth, according to the Virtual Telescope Project. On Tuesday, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Sentry System—which tracks potential collisions with celestial objects—also removed the asteroid from its risk list.
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March 23, 2023 at 05:36PM
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Asteroid will pass closer to Earth than the moon this week - Chron
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