Permanent observations of asteroid 2023 DW, discovered on February 26, have allowed scientists to collect more information on its trajectory, which has allowed scientists to reduce the probability of their future approaches to the Earth. Based on this new data, the NASA Center for the Study of Near-Earth Objects has increased the asteroid's hazard rating from 1 to 0 on the Turin scale.
Asteroid 2023 DW will make its closest encounter with Earth on February 14, 2046, earning it the nickname "Valentine's Day asteroid." This implies that the asteroid's trajectory would be encountered with the Earth on the first day of its evolution. By March 16, 115 observations of 2023 DW have been made, and the data obtained suggests that the probability of its collision with the Earth has decreased significantly.
The initial estimate of the likelihood of DW colliding with our planet in 2023 was 0.18 percent. Two weeks of observation reduced the probability to 0.03%. This has happened many times in the past and, hopefully, will happen again in the future. Nothing now refers to a collision with Apophis as an event destined to zero.
The asteroid 2023 DW has a diameter of about 50 meters, and it is approximately twice the size of the Chelyabinsk body. For comparison, the Tunguska eruption was accompanied by an explosion with an energy of 10 to 40 Mt.
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