the asteroid "city ​​killer" will pass between the orbits of Earth and the Moon this weekend

() — When hearing the words “city killer” and “asteroid” in the same sentence, it’s acceptable to think that something bad could be about to happen.

But fear not. Although an asteroid with the potential to cause significant damage approaches our planet in a somewhat unusual way, it will pass harmlessly between the orbits of Earth and the Moon.

Saturday night, asteroid 2023 DZ2 it will fly by at a distance of 170,000 kilometers (105,633 miles). The moon, by comparison, is about 384,400 kilometers (238,855 miles) from Earth.

Known as the “city killer,” the asteroid — which measures between 40 and 100 meters (131 to 328 feet) in size — won’t do anything of the sort. But its flyby is still remarkable, experts say.

“What is unusual about this object is that it is quite rare for an object of this size to pass so close to Earth. That happens about once every 10 years,” Richard Moissl, head of ESA’s Office of Planetary Defense, told on Friday.

“But this is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to get some good close-up measurements on a relatively large body that is relatively easy to measure in that regard,” he said.

Near-Earth objects are asteroids and comets with orbits that bring them within 195 million kilometers (120 million miles) of the Sun, and this means they can “circle through Earth’s orbital neighborhood,” according to NASA.

Experts will illuminate asteroid 2023 DZ2 with radar and use it to get more precise measurements of the object, Moissl added.

The label “city killer”

Moissl said the phrase “city killer” is used by experts in reference to two known asteroid impacts.

During the event of Tunguska of 1908, an asteroid “sent a shock wave and leveled 2,000 square kilometers of forest” in Siberia, Moissl said. Also, about 50,000 years ago, an iron asteroid struck what is now Arizona, between Flagstaff and Winslow on the Colorado Plateau, creating a crater 1.2 kilometers (0.75 miles) wide and about 180 meters (600 feet) deep.

When space rocks enter Earth’s orbit and hit Earth, “if they occur in uninhabited areas, then [no] It’s a big concern,” Moissl said.

“If we ever find one of the sites where we see this is going to hit Earth, the first step is to figure out where it’s going to hit Earth because if it’s in the middle of the ocean, in the middle of the desert, it’s not a big deal. We just need to make sure there is no air traffic or people in the area,” he added.

“That’s where the [término] ‘killer of cities’. If such an object fell directly on a city, this would be a problem: the entire city would probably be badly damaged and would have to be evacuated.

“City killer is a good slogan. It’s not a bad description. That’s why we didn’t completely throw it out the window. Because he says in two words: this is dangerous at the level of being able to destroy a city, ”he explained.

However, that is not what is happening with 2023 DZ2. The asteroid, which is in a heliocentric orbit, meaning it is in an orbit and an ellipse around the Sun, “will continue to go around and around the Sun,” she said.

There are currently more than 1,450 NEOs on the “risk list,” Moissl said, and they are added whenever there is “the slightest possibility that it could impact [la Tierra] in the next 100 years.”

“These objects are generally observed quite a bit. And the measures are refined, ”she added.