Asteroid Dimorphos photographed by NASA during the DART mission in 2022. Credit: Handout / NASA / Jons Hopkins APL / AFP
An asteroid about 50 meters across is on a trajectory that could result in it crashing to Earth on Valentine’s Day in 2046. Astronomers estimate that the celestial object named “2023 Dw” would have a 1,584 chance of landing on our planet. What would be the consequences of this impact?
“That’s what they call ‘City Killers’ a city killer‘ explains Marie-Ange Sanguy, Editor-in-Chief of Espace et Exploration magazine. She specifies: “It is basically a city, a region that is being destroyed by its effects. Until we discover it and it arrives, we have time to carry out backup systems, including evacuating the entire area where it is scheduled to arrive.
A possibility made by less secure the high probability of impact in a sea or ocean. Recent examples of asteroid impacts, albeit smaller, give us some idea of the aftermath.
“The meteorite that arrived in Russia, in Chelyabinsk, did quite a bit of damage. For example, she shattered the windows, and depending on where she falls, she can kill people. But it won’t cause massive destruction,” explains Marie-Ange Sanguy. She concludes: “The smaller they are, the less they will cause massive destruction and the more likely they will burn up in Earth’s atmosphere before they arrive.” On the ground .”
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