NASA’s Planetary Defense Office has announced that it is tracking a new asteroid “A small chance of hitting Earth” 23 years later on Valentine’s Day 2046.
This asteroid is named “2023 DW” and 50 meters in diameter, the size of an Olympic swimming pool.
According to the European Space Agency, it has a 1 in 625 chance of hitting Earth, CNN reported.
The aforementioned space rock is currently at the top of NASA’s list of hazards and only has a score of 1 out of 10 on the Torino scale, meaning “the probability of collision is extremely unlikely without cause for public attention or concern.”
As astronomers learn more about this asteroid, Worries about this can be alleviated.
NASA’s Office of Planetary Defense wrote on its Twitter account, “Often when new objects are discovered for the first time, Several weeks of data are needed to reduce uncertainties and adequately predict their orbits in the future.”
Orbiters will continue to monitor the asteroid 2023 DW and update predictions as more data comes in, he said.
Also read: Asteroid the size of a building passes very close to Earth
A new asteroid named 2023 DW is unlikely to hit Earth in 2046. Often when new objects are first discovered, several weeks of data are needed to reduce uncertainties and adequately predict their orbits in the future. . (1/2) pic.twitter.com/SaLC0AUSdP
— NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) March 7, 2023