An asteroid big enough to destroy a city will pass harmlessly between Earth and the moon’s orbit this weekend, missing both celestial bodies. Saturday’s close encounter will offer astronomers the chance to study the space rock from just over 100,000 miles away. That’s less than half the distance from here to the Moon, making it visible through binoculars and small telescopes.
While asteroid flybys are common, NASA said it’s rare for one this big to come this close about once every ten years. Scientists estimate its size to be somewhere between 130 feet and 300 feet (40 meters and 90 meters). The asteroid known as 2023 DZ2, which was discovered a month ago, will fly by within 320,000 miles (515,000 kilometers) of the moon on Saturday and a few hours later will be whizzing by the Indian Ocean at about 28,000 km/h.
“There is no chance of this killer hitting Earth, but its close approach offers a great opportunity for observation,” the European Space Agency’s head of planetary defense, Richard Moissl, said in a statement.
According to NASA, astronomers at the International Asteroid Warning Network consider this a good practice for planetary defense if and when a dangerous asteroid heads our way.
The Virtual Telescope Project will provide a live webcast of the close approach. The asteroid won’t return to our path until 2026. Although it initially looked like it might hit Earth then, scientists have since ruled that out.
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