NASA tracking new asteroid that has 'small chance' of hitting Earth on Valentine's Day 2046
NASA is tracking a new asteroid that has a small chance of hitting Earth in about 20 years: on Valentine's Day in 2046.
The asteroid is named 2023 DW.
It's 164 feet in diameter and is about the size of an Olympic swimming pool.
Officials say the chance of it actually striking Earth is 1 in more than 600.
On NASA's risk scale, they rank it as "extremely unlikely ... with no cause for public concern."
The agency says it continues to monitor the asteroid daily and that the risk level is likely to decline as they gather more information.
While not as catastrophic as the dinosaur-killing asteroid that struck 66 million years ago, this asteroid could cause severe damage if it were to strike near a heavily-populated area.
A much smaller asteroid struck Russia in 2013.
It generated a shock wave that injured 1,500 people and damaged thousands of buildings.
