Jakarta –
NASA announced there was a asteroid only the size of an Olympic swimming pool has a chance of colliding with Earth. Fortunately, the odds are very small, only 1 in 600.
The asteroid is named 2023 DW. The announcement itself was also made via a tweet by NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office on March 8, 2023 yesterday.
Although the probability of a collision is very small, the risk is higher than the average for asteroids near Earth. In addition, this level of risk is expected to decrease as more clear observations of the asteroid become available.
When Will it Collide?
NASA estimates that the asteroid the size of a swimming pool will collide directly in February 2046. Meanwhile, this space object was first detected on February 27, according to Live Science.
Asteroid 2023 DW is estimated to have a diameter of about 50 meters or about 165 feet. Therefore, it is about the size of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
As of March 8 2023 yesterday, it is estimated asteroid it will come very close to Earth on February 14, 2046. The European Space Agency’s Near-Earth Object Coordination Center predicts there is a 1 in 625 chance of direct contact with Earth. However, this opportunity is still recalculated every day.
“Often when a new object is first discovered, it takes several weeks of data to reduce uncertainty and adequately predict its orbit for years into the future,” NASA tweeted.
NASA also revealed that orbit analysts will continue to monitor the 2023 DW asteroid and update their predictions as more data comes in.
How Dangerous?
The direct impact of this asteroid is said to not be as catastrophic as the 12-kilometer-wide dinosaur-killing asteroid that crashed to Earth 66 million years ago.
Even so, an asteroid the size of an Olympic swimming pool can still cause severe damage if it lands near a large city or densely populated area.
A meteor half the size of DW 2023 exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013. As a result, thousands of buildings were damaged and 1,500 people were injured.
Although an impact from DW 2023 is considered almost impossible, scientists are quickly developing methods to protect Earth from potentially dangerous asteroids like this one.
Last week, NASA scientists released four studies confirming that the Double Asteroid Redirection (DART) mission had successfully changed its trajectory. asteroid small after directly crashing the spaceship. Follow-up missions are currently being worked on to further hone the technique’s effectiveness.
Watch Video “NASA Finds Asteroids The Size Of Trucks Approaching Earth“
(nah/faz)
