Asteroid 2023 DZ2 will pass by Earth at a distance less than half the average distance between Earth and the Moon. It will come close enough for astronomy enthusiasts to potentially observe it with suitable equipment, such as small telescopes or high-quality binoculars. The asteroid currently resides in the constellation Cancer, but on March 26th, it will traverse through the constellations Leo, Virgo, and Libra.
Illustration of an Asteroid Approaching Earth. Image: iStock
Data from NASA’s Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) reveals that 2023 DZ2 has a diameter of approximately 43-97 meters. At its maximum, this asteroid will be slightly taller than the Statue of Liberty. When approaching Earth, it moves at a speed of 28,000 km/h, which is about eight times faster than a bullet.
It takes about three years for 2023 DZ2 to complete one orbit around the Sun. It is one of over 31,000 Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) identified by the scientific community so far. NEO is a term used for celestial bodies that orbit the Sun and come within approximately 48 million km of Earth.
Scientists continuously monitor the sky to detect new NEOs and track the movements of known ones for planetary defense purposes. Occasionally, objects are discovered shortly before their close approach to Earth, as was the case with 2023 DZ2, which was detected on February 27th.
However, astronomers have calculated the orbit of 2023 DZ2 and determined that it poses no threat of impact with Earth during its upcoming approach. They estimate the probability of a collision with Earth on March 27th, 2026, to be 1 in 71,000. Nevertheless, this scenario is highly unlikely, and the most feasible outcome is that it will safely pass by Earth.
In the event of a collision, astronomers estimate that 2023 DZ2 would disintegrate in the upper atmosphere, potentially causing some fragments to fall to Earth, according to Gianluca Masi, an astronomer from the Virtual Telescope Project (VTP).
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has calculated that the atmospheric explosion of 2023 DZ2 would release an energy equivalent to 5 million tons of TNT explosive. This magnitude is 200 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945, according to JPL’s calculations.