Named 2023 DW, the newly discovered asteroid is the only known object on the list of objects threatening to hit Earth.
Are you one of those people who likes to plan ahead? If you are, or if you already have an idea where you will spend Valentine’s Day in 2046 with your loved one, we are afraid it might be a good idea to postpone your plans for a while, because astronomers have discovered asteroid which they claim may hit the Earth on that very day, in 23 years.
According to NASA calculations, the chance that our planet will be hit by a newly discovered asteroid the size of an Olympic swimming pool is 1 in 560. If you’re more optimistic, you might be better off relying on the calculations of the European Space Agency (ESA), which has estimated the odds of an impact at 1 in 625.
Novootkriveni asteroid, nazvan 2023 DWis the only known object in space that ranks between 1 and 10 on NASA’s risk scale – all other objects are rated zero, indicating no risk of collision with Earth. NASA says a 2023 DW risk assessment of 1 means a collision is extremely unlikely and there is no reason for public concern.
This risk assessment is based on initial calculations, but there is a good chance that this assessment will change in the coming weeks as scientists conduct additional analyses. Of course, nothing guarantees that the risk will not become higher, but it is not uncommon newly discovered asteroids seem scarier than they really are.
However, there is also good news, which is that even if the 2023 DW hits Earth, the continued existence of humanity will not be in question. The size of this asteroid is twice the size of the one that exploded over Chelyabinsk in 2013, which means that it would cause significant damage if it fell on a city or populated place, but the consequences would not be global.
Of course, if it turns out that it will 2023 DW to hit our planet with certainty, this does not mean that the planetary defenses will sit idly by – last year, NASA successfully carried out the DART mission, which aimed to change the orbit of the smaller of the two asteroids.
However, if you are interested in what an asteroid falling on Serbia would look like, and what consequences such an event would have, here you can read all about our simulation or view the gallery below.
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Scientists discovered a dangerous asteroid, there is a chance that it will hit the Earth
(WORLD)