Asteroid Approaching Closer Than the Distance to the Moon
Last weekend, an asteroid named 2023 DZ2, roughly the size of Berlin Cathedral, made a close pass by Earth. This intriguing celestial event was closely monitored by scientists worldwide, with the Virtual Telescope Project broadcasting the asteroid's approach live on the internet.
The asteroid, estimated to be between 40 and 90 meters in size, was traveling at a speed of about 28,000 kilometers per hour. As it approached, it first passed the Moon before flying by at a distance of about 168,000 kilometers above the Indian Ocean.
NASA, in a tweet, announced the asteroid's close approach, stating that such events happen regularly but an asteroid of this size only comes this close about once per decade. The space agency also warned that the asteroid had the potential to wipe out an entire city.
The research into this asteroid was led by James Garvin, chief scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt. Garvin and his team used satellite data to examine several large craters on Earth in greater detail. Their study revealed that Earth has been hit by asteroids with a diameter of at least one kilometer more frequently than every 600,000 years.
In a remarkable discovery, the research team identified an additional ring outside the previously known crater rim in four large craters suspected of being caused by asteroid impacts. This finding suggests that the impacting objects were significantly larger than previously thought, with the suspected crater diameter of all four craters more than doubling as a result.
The largest impact craters were formed by asteroid impacts mostly during the Late Heavy Bombardment period around 3.8 to 4.1 billion years ago. These discoveries highlight the importance of continued research into asteroid impacts and the potential threats they pose to our planet.
However, Richard Moissl, head of planetary defense at the European Space Agency, reassured the public that the asteroid could not hit Earth, but its close approach provided a great opportunity for observations.
The asteroid was discovered by astronomers working on the European research project for near-Earth asteroids on February 27, 2023. The study was also presented at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, shedding light on the frequency of large asteroid impacts on Earth and the need for ongoing vigilance in asteroid detection and defence.
