ALERT! Newly Identified Asteroid 2019 DS1 May Hit Earth: ESA

Based on the information collected by both ESA and NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) has warned that it has detected a new asteroid that has a great chance of hitting Earth in the future. The asteroid, known as 2019 DS1, is the latest addition to the ESA’s Risk List, which catalogs space rocks that have non-zero impact probabilities.

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According to the agency, the possible impact event might happen in around 60 years from now. The agency has further added, the asteroid’s minimum orbit intersection distance from Earth is only 0.00095 astronomical units or roughly 88,308 miles. Although this seems like a long and safe distance, 80,000 miles in space is very short, especially for asteroids.

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The asteroid which has an Apollo-type orbit as indicated in the agency’s database, the 2019 DS1’s orbit occasionally intersects with that of Earth as the planet goes around the Sun.

Due to the asteroid’s close-intersections with Earth, ESA calculated that the asteroid’s chances of hitting the planet are one out of 787. The agency predicted that if an impact event would happen, it would take place on Feb. 26, 2082.

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The ESA’s U.S. counterpart NASA noted that in 2082, 2019 DS1 will approach the planet from a distance of 0.00112 astronomical units or roughly 104,110 miles. This is less than half of the distance between the Earth and the Moon.