Asteroid Flyby on Earth Closer Than the Moon Expected on June 14

An asteroid flyby closer than the distance between Earth and our Moon is expected to occur on Thursday, June 14, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Despite its proximity, the asteroid known as '2023 LZ' is expected to safely pass Earth. This means that the chance for a direct asteroid strike is unlikely.

The upcoming asteroid passage came after 'Asteroid 1994 XD' zipped past Earth on Sunday night, June 11. Weekend's asteroid has a size comparable to the size of the U.S. Capitol building. It was classified by NASA as a potentially hazardous asteroid and Apollo-class asteroid, as well as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA), mainly due to its size and distance from our planet.

June 14 Asteroid Flyby

The asteroid will make its close approach to Earth at around 6:36 p.m. UTC or 2:36 p.m. ET (local time) on Wednesday with a distance of 197,000 miles, according to NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). This is close enough in terms of astronomical scales since the distance between our planet and the Moon is approximately 240,000 miles.

Based on NASA's online database, Asteroid 2023 LZ will travel faster than a speeding bullet with a speed of 13.63 kilometers per second or around 30,500 miles per hour. The average bullet speed is reportedly around 1,700 miles per hour.

Main Asteroid Belt

The recent origins of 2023 LZ possibly came from the 'Main Asteroid Belt,' a region in space located between orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It is in this area where most of the Sun-orbiting asteroids in our Solar System are found, according to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which asserts the asteroid belt potentially contains millions of asteroids.

Among these space rocks lies the dwarf planet called 'Ceres,' which is the largest object in the Main Asteroid Belt. It is also the only dwarf planet found in the inner solar system. Ceres was first spotted by Giuseppe Piazzi in 1801 and the first member of the asteroid belt, according to NASA.

NASA DART Mission

While asteroids from outside our Solar System may also impact or fly by Earth, most are expected to come from the Main Asteroid Belt. Due to the threat posed by asteroids, especially the large or planet killers, NASA and other space agencies have been constantly monitoring these space objects. Just last year, the first-ever asteroid planetary defense test was made.

In September 2022, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft targeted the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos that orbits the larger asteroid Didymos using kinetic impact technology. The DART mission has been considered a success by the U.S. space agency since it significantly altered the trajectory of asteroid Moonlet, which did not pose a threat to Earth.

Similar space programs are possible to be conducted in the coming years, particularly when it comes to deflecting larger asteroids that can cause widespread damage in our planet.