Large asteroid coming close, but zero chance of hitting us

An asteroid big enough to wipe out a city will zip harmlessly between Earth and the moon’s orbit this weekend, missing both celestial bodies.

Saturday’s close encounter will offer astronomers the chance to study a space rock from just over 100,000 miles (168,000km) away. That’s less than half the distance from here to the moon, making it visible through binoculars and small telescopes.

While asteroid flybys are common, Nasa said it’s rare for one so big to come so close — about once a decade. Scientists estimate its size somewhere between 40m and 90m).

This photo provided by Gianluca Masi shows asteroid 2023 DZ2, indicated by arrow at centre, about 1.8 million kilometres (1.1 million miles) away from the Earth on March 22, 2023. Photo / AP

Discovered a month ago, the asteroid known as 2023 DZ2 will pass within 515,000km of the moon on Saturday and, several hours later, buzz the Indian Ocean at about 28,000km/h.

“There is no chance of this ‘city killer’ striking Earth, but its close approach offers a great opportunity for observations,” the European Space Agency’s planetary defence chief Richard Moissl said in a statement.

Astronomers with the International Asteroid Warning Network see it as good practice for planetary defence if and when a dangerous asteroid heads our way, according to Nasa.

The Virtual Telescope Project will provide a live webcast of the close approach.

The asteroid won’t be back our way again until 2026. Although there initially seemed to be a slight chance it might strike Earth then, scientists have since ruled that out.