(CNN) When you hear the words “city killer” and “asteroid” in the same sentence, you’d be forgiven for thinking something bad is about to happen.
But not to be afraid. Although an asteroid with the potential to cause significant damage if it struck a populated area came a bit unusually close to our planet this weekend, it certainly passed unharmed between Earth’s orbits and of the month
On Saturday night, the asteroid 2023 DZ2 will fly a distance of 105,633 miles (170,000 kilometers). The moon, by comparison, is about 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers) away from Earth.
Referred to as a “city killer,” the asteroid — which measures between 40 and 100 meters (131 to 328 feet) in size — is nothing of the sort. But the flyby is still remarkable, experts say.
“What is unusual about this object is that it is quite rare, that an object of this size passes so close to Earth. That happens about once every 10 years,” said Richard Moissl, head of ESA of the Planetary Defense Office, on CNN Friday.
“But this is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to get some good close-up measurements on a relatively large body that’s relatively easy to scale to that effect,” he said.
Near-Earth objects are asteroids and comets that have orbits that bring them within 120 million miles of the sun, and this means they can “go around Earth’s orbital neighborhood,” according I hope in.
Experts will shine a light on the 2023 DZ2 asteroid with radar, and use it to get more accurate measurements for the object, Moissl added.
The ‘city killer’ label
Moissl said the phrase “city killer” is used by experts to refer to two known asteroid impacts.
During the Tunguska event in 1908, an asteroid “sent a shockwave down and flattened 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 0.75 miles (1.2 kilometers) across and about about 600 feet (180 meters) deep.
When space rocks enter Earth’s orbit and hit the ground, “if it happens in uninhabited areas, then [it’s] less concerned,” Moissl said.
“If ever we find one of the sites where we see this will impact Earth, the first step is to find out where it will 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 no people in the area,” he added.
“There it is [term] The ‘city killer’ originated. If such an object were to land directly over a city, it would be a problem: The entire city would likely be badly damaged, and would have to be evacuated.
“City killer is a nice slogan. It’s not a bad description. That’s why we didn’t completely throw it out the window. Because it says in two words: This is dangerous on the level of being capable of destroying the city,” he explained. .
However, that is not the case with the 2023 DZ2. The asteroid, which is in a heliocentric orbit, meaning it is in an orbit and ellipse around the sun, is “continually going around and around the sun,” he said.
There are currently more than 1,450 near-Earth objects in “risk list,” said Moissl, adding them whenever there was “the slightest possibility that it might affect [Earth] in the next 100 years.”
“These objects are usually then observed quite a lot. And the measurements are refined,” he added.