Discovery of an asteroid that may collide with Earth by this year
On February 27, 2023, an asteroid was discovered called “2023 DW.” It quickly became clear that this asteroid was worth monitoring because it might pose a danger to Earth and collide with it in 2046.
Based on 46 observations of the asteroid within 3 days, astronomical calculations indicated that its orbit passes close to the Earth’s orbit and is only 75 thousand km away from it, that is, one-fifth of the moon’s distance from us, which is considered a small distance.
The orbit is still inaccurate due to the lack of observations, and this means that the orbit may change and intersect with the Earth’s orbit as the number of observations of the asteroid increases, according to the director of the International Astronomy Center.
What increased the importance of following up on this asteroid is that preliminary calculations indicated that the asteroid will pass near Earth on February 14, 2046, and will be at a distance ranging from 1,500 kilometers to 24 million kilometers from the center of the Earth. If the minimum distance is achieved, it will be less than half. The diameter of the Earth, which means that this asteroid will collide with it at that time. Current calculations indicate that the collision rate is very small, amounting to 0.0013 percent. Although it is small, it exists, and the inaccuracy of the orbit makes the issue worthy of attention and careful monitoring of the asteroid.
Source: websites