The “city killer” asteroid will pass between Earth and the Moon this weekend

An asteroid big enough to flatten a city It will pass between Earth and the Moon’s orbit this weekend without touching any of the orbs. The event, which will take place on Saturday, will offer astronomers the opportunity to study a space rock 100,000 miles away. This is less than half the distance between Earth and the Moon, so it will be visible with binoculars and small telescopes.

Although it is common to catch asteroids up close, NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States) warns against Rarely does anyone come close to this large; Scientists estimate its size between 40 and 90 meters. Such an event has been reported It happens once every ten years.

The rocky body, known as the 2023 DZ2, It was discovered a month ago and will pass less than 515,000 km away Far Moon on Saturdayand over the Indian Ocean several hours later, at a speed of about 28,000 kilometers per hour.

“There is no chance for this city killer to hit the ground.“But its proximity provides a great opportunity for observation,” Richard Moisel, director of planetary defense at the European Space Agency, said in a statement.

Astronomers from the International Asteroid Warning Network – also as a warning – said so It’s a good planetary defense practice in case a dangerous asteroid comes our wayAccording to NASA. he Virtual Telescope Project It will provide a live online broadcast of the asteroid pass.

The asteroid will not cross our path again until 2026. Although at first it seemed that there was a possibility that it could collide with Earth, this situation was quickly ruled out.

With information from the AP

Nation