Will Valentine’s Day 2046 be apocalyptic? An asteroid about 50 meters in diameter was discovered on February 26 thanks to a telescope in Chile and has a tiny but not zero probability of crashing into our planet on February 14, 2046, NASA reports.
“We have been tracking a new asteroid called 2023 DW that has a very low chance of hitting Earth in 2046,” the US space agency said on its Twitter account.
One in 625 chance of ending up on Earth
The European Spatial Agency is also close to the risk of an impact of the asteroid on Earth: 2023 DW, which is around an environmental vitesse 90,000 kilometers per hour, and in effect a chance on 625 to finish its course in our house. For this reason, it is classified at level 1 of the Turin scale: the chances of a collision are very unlikely in the coming decades.
“Often when new objects are first discovered, several weeks of data are needed to reduce uncertainties and correctly predict their orbits for years to come,” NASA says.
Currently nearly 18 million kilometers from Earth, 2023 DW could get closer to about 1.8 million kilometers in 2046 according to NASA.
A possible arrival in the Pacific Ocean
And in the unlikely event of an impact, it would take place off the Pacific Ocean according to the work of Italian amateur astronomer Piero Sicoli. However, its size should not be neglected, which could be reduced in the event of re-entry into the atmosphere.
“Around 100 meters in diameter, we reach a critical size,” according to ESA director Ian Carnelli, interviewed by the Parisian, “with this asteroid 2023 DW, we are starting to approach this critical size.” “Even if the impact occurs in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, an asteroid could generate a tsunami causing damage and victims in inhabited areas,” continues with our colleagues from the Parisian.
However, NASA assures that its analysts “will continue to monitor asteroid 2023 DW and update forecasts as new data arrives.”
Source: BFM TV
