Dangerous? After 5 days of all eyes on the sky, meteor 2023 DZ2 comes very close to Earth. What are the chances of 'damage'

On March 27, 2023, a newly discovered asteroid will pass close to Earth. The same asteroid will return to our planet a few years later, in 2026. The celestial body in question is 2023 DZ2. Euronear Project astronomers Ovidiu Vaduvescu, Freya Barwell and Kiran Jhass contributed to its discovery, using the Isaac Newton telescopes.

The diameter of asteroid 2023 DZ2 is about 60 meters (58 to be exact), equal to the size of the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, also known as the Colosseum square. In the event of a collision with Earth, it could cause serious damage, as it is three times larger than the Chelyabinsk meteor of 2013, which injured 1,500 people. It is therefore necessary to precisely measure its trajectory, but so far the odds of collision are predicted to be 1 in 621.

On March 27, asteroid 2023 DZ2 will pass close to Earth at a distance of about 170,000 kilometers, less than half the average distance between Earth and the Moon. The asteroid will reach the closest point to our planet at 12:15, moving at a speed of over 32,000 kilometers per hour./ corriere.it