A relatively small asteroid with a diameter of 70 meters will pass close to Earth tomorrow, half the distance to the Moon.

Asteroid 2023 dz2 will first pass within 515.000 kilometers of the Moon tomorrow evening, and a few hours later it will approach within 68.000 kilometers of Earth, without causing any problems.

A newly discovered #asteroid named 2023 DZ2 will safely pass by Earth on Saturday at 100K+ miles away. 🌎

While close approaches are a regular occurrence, one by an asteroid of this size (140-310 ft) happens only about once per decade, providing a unique opportunity for science.

- NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) March 21, 2023

The divergence will only be a rare opportunity for astronomers to study the building-sized space rock up close.

- There is no chance that the "city killer" will hit the earth, but the approach opens up a great opportunity for us to observe - said Richard Moisle, head of planetary security of the European Space Agency. The Virtual Telescope project will track the asteroid's motion and broadcast it live.

Astronomers from the Asteroid Warning Network point out that it is very rare for a rock of this size to come so close to our planet. They add that 2023 dz2 will approach Earth again in 2026, but miss us again.

An asteroid with a diameter of 70 meters and a speed of 28.000 kilometers per hour could do a lot of damage if it hit the Earth directly. The asteroid would not burn up completely in the atmosphere and would release energy that could completely wipe out an entire city, equivalent to 15 megatons, that is, as much as the detonation of 1.000 atomic bombs like the one dropped on Hiroshima.

The asteroid that hit the Siberian Tunguska region in June 1908 was of similar dimensions. According to estimates, the average frequency of such impacts is once every 1.900 years.