A large asteroid will pass between the Earth and the Moon today, and this phenomenon, normally harmless to the population, happens once every ten years, Agence France-Presse learned from sources close to the European Space Agency (ESA).
According to estimates, the asteroid named "2023 DZ2" has a diameter between 40 and 70 meters, which is enough to destroy a large city if it were to hit the Earth.
At 19.49:XNUMX CET, the asteroid will be closest to the Earth, less than a third of the distance that separates the Earth from the Moon.
Sources close to ESA said there was no cause for concern and added that the asteroid was first spotted on February 27.
It will pass about 175.000 kilometers from Earth, at a speed of 28.000 kilometers per hour.
Small asteroids pass overhead every day, but the passage of such a large one so close to Earth only happens every ten years, the ESA said.
The International Asteroid Warning Network decided to take advantage of such proximity to analyze the asteroid using a range of instruments such as spectrometers and radars.
According to astronomers' calculations, the asteroid will pass by the Earth again in 2026, but at a greater distance.
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