On March 26th, a small asteroid slightly larger than an Olympic swimming pool will pass close to the moon and the Earth, according to an analysis by the astronomy community. Experts predict that it may even be possible to see the asteroid with standard telescopes in the night sky. According to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and EarthSky, on March 25th at 3:51 p.m. Eastern Time (4:51 a.m. Korean Time on March 26th), an asteroid named “2023DZ2” will pass between the moon and the Earth at a speed of 7.7 km per second. This asteroid belongs to the Apollon asteroid family, which poses a potential threat to Earth, and is estimated to have a diameter of 41-92 meters, with a 3.16-year orbit around the sun. On this day, the asteroid is expected to come as close as 1,746,500 kilometers, half the average distance between the moon and Earth. In comparison, the asteroid that exploded in the sky over the Chelyabinsk region of Russia in February 2013, causing significant damage, had a diameter of 20 meters. This asteroid was first discovered by astronomers at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in La Palma, Spain, at the end of February this year. NASA has reassured the public that the asteroid will not collide with Earth via its Twitter account (@NASA asteroidwatch). However, they also stated that while asteroids passing this close to Earth have occurred many times, it is rare for an asteroid of this size to come so close, only happening once every ten years. The International Asteroid Warning Network believes that this event can prepare us for potential asteroid threats in the future. Some astronomers have already identified the potential risk of the 2023DZ2 asteroid colliding with Earth on March 27th, 2026. In addition to this asteroid, another asteroid called 2023DW has been discovered, and the monitoring system that has been developed since 1999 to list near-Earth objects (NEOs) that pose a collision risk to Earth shows that it has a higher possibility of colliding with Earth than 2023DZ2. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), this asteroid was first discovered on February 26th, and was added to the danger list and classified as a first priority. ESA believes that this 2023DW asteroid could collide on Valentine’s Day in 2046 or sometime between Valentine’s Day 2047 and 2051. However, changes in the orbit trajectory can occur depending on the size of the asteroid. Scientists have stated that “This asteroid poses no threat to Earth for the time being.”
Close Approach of Asteroid 2023DZ2 to Earth on March 26
On March 26th, a small asteroid will pass close to Earth and moon. It belongs to the potentially hazardous Apollon asteroid family.