NASA tracks potentially hazardous asteroid approaching Earth: 2023 LZ under surveillance

Mark your calendars for June 14, 2023, as this is the day when the near-Earth asteroid, dubbed 2023 LZ, will draw within 0.823 times the Moon's distance from Earth, or about 316,407 kilometers.

This swift space traveler, with a speed of 13.53 kilometers per second, is an Apollo type asteroid. This denotes an asteroid with an orbit exceeding that of Earth's but that crosses our planet's orbit.

Its estimated diameter falls between 14 and 32 meters. Strikingly, a similarly-sized asteroid only collides with Earth roughly once every 110 years.

If it did make contact, it would not reach the Earth's surface but would create an impressive airburst about 9 kilometers above our heads.

This would release an energy equivalent to 939 tons of TNT and form a breathtaking fireball. The event would likely mirror the Chelyabinsk superbolide's atmospheric entry over Russia in 2013.

NASA is diligently working on enhancing its capabilities to divert such potentially hazardous asteroids before they can make a catastrophic impact on Earth.

They've already demonstrated this aptitude with the DART mission, a strategy that involves launching a spacecraft directly into an asteroid.

The earlier we detect an Earth-bound asteroid, the less force is needed to redirect it to a harmless path.

Presently, the time frame required to prepare such a mission ranges from five to ten years.