Saturday 25 March, a mammoth asteroid, will pass Earth at a distance half that of the Moon!
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Fortunately, asteroid 2023 DZ2 will make a safe journey past planet at an impressive speed of 17,700 mph (28,044 km/h), according to EarthSky. Northern Hemisphere skywatchers with telescopes have an exciting opportunity to observe this space rock on the evening of Friday, March 24. Tune in to the Virtual Telescope Project this Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. EDT (23:30 UTC) for a live stream of the asteroid!
From the Northern Hemisphere, the asteroid will appear as a star in the southeastern sky, just east of Orion, in the constellations Canis Major and Canis Minor. On March 25, it will reach its closest approach at 19:52 UTC.
In February 2023, astronomers at the La Palma Observatory in the Canary Islands made a remarkable discovery – an asteroid estimated to be between 44 and 99 meters wide. This momentous discovery could prove to be crucial for humanity’s understanding of the universe! As it crosses Earth’s orbit, this asteroid has been classified as an Apollo-class celestial body.
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Although we are not sure of the exact origin of 2023 DZ2, many asteroids that orbit near Earth originate from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. These objects were likely knocked away by interactions with Jupiter.
Fortunately, the Virtual Telescope Project has calculated that the asteroid will remain at a safe distance of 173,000 kilometers from Earth. With the current knowledge of the orbit of 2023 DZ2, the odds are 1 in 430 of colliding with our planet. While astronomers continue to study the asteroid's orbit, it is believed that this small chance will soon become moot. The asteroid revolves around the Sun with a period of 3.17 years.
See also: Huge asteroid passed close to Earth
Although the 2023 DZ2 asteroid does not pose an immediate threat to Earth, NASA is monitoring 24 other known objects that may have an infinitesimal chance of hitting our planet in the coming years.
