Connect with us

Published

2 years ago

on

After a brief flirtation with doom, the newly discovered asteroid that was given a 1-in-600 chance of slamming into Earth on Valentine’s Day 2046 is now highly unlikely to hit our planet, NASA announced. 

The asteroid, which was first detected on Feb. 27 and named “2023 DW,” measures about 165 feet (50 meters) in diameter, or roughly the length of an Olympic-size swimming pool.

Initially given a slim but possible chance of a direct impact by NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office (opens in new tab) , the threat posed by the asteroid generated a flurry of news coverage advising readers to reconsider any romantic plans made for 2046. Now, NASA has revised this estimate, putting the asteroid’s chances of hitting Earth at around 1-in-770, meaning it has a 99.87% chance of missing us. The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre (opens in new tab) has also lowered its risk estimate — downgrading the impact odds from a 1-in-625 chance to around 1-in-1,584. 

Related: Could an asteroid destroy Earth?

“It will go down now with every observation until it reaches zero in a couple of days at the latest,” Richard Moissl (opens in new tab) , the head of the ESA’s planetary defense office, told Agence France-Presse (opens in new tab) on Tuesday (Mar. 14). “No one needs to be worried about this guy.”

NASA tracks the locations and orbits of roughly 28,000 asteroids, following them with the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), an array of four telescopes that can perform a scan of the entire night sky every 24 hours. The space agency flags any space object that comes within 120 million miles (193 million kilometers) of Earth as a “near-Earth object” and classifies any large object within 4.65 million miles (7.5 million km) of our planet as “potentially hazardous.”RELATED STORIES—’Potentially hazardous’ asteroid twice the size of the World Trade Center will shoot past Earth —tonight

‘Planet killer’ asteroid hiding in sun’s glare could smash into Earth one day

—What happened when the dinosaur-killing asteroid slammed into Earth?

NASA has estimated the trajectories of all these near-Earth objects beyond the end of the century. Earth faces no known danger from an apocalyptic asteroid collision for at least the next 100 years, according to NASA (opens in new tab) .

If 2023 DW did smash into Earth, it would not be a cataclysmic event like the 7.5-mile-wide (12 km) dinosaur-killing asteroid that struck Earth 66 million years ago. But this doesn’t mean smaller asteroids of its size aren’t dangerous. In March 2021, for example, a bowling ball-size meteor exploded over Vermont with the force of 440 pounds (200 kilograms) of TNT. Even more dramatically, a 2013 explosion of a 59-foot-wide (18 m) meteor above Chelyabinsk, Russia, generated a blast roughly equal to around 400 to 500 kilotons of TNT, or 26 to 33 times the energy released by the Hiroshima bomb, and injured around 1,500 people.

Space agencies around the world are already working on possible ways to deflect a dangerous asteroid if one were ever headed our way. On Sept. 26, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft redirected the non-hazardous asteroid Dimorphos by ramming it off course, altering the asteroid’s orbit by 32 minutes in the first test of Earth’s planetary defense system. NASA has since hailed the mission as a success beyond all expectations.

China has also suggested it is in the early planning stages of an asteroid-redirect mission. By slamming 23 Long March 5 rockets into the asteroid Bennu, which will swing within 4.6 million miles (7.4 million km) of Earth’s orbit between the years 2175 and 2199, the country hopes to divert the space rock from a potentially catastrophic impact with our planet.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Sports

Canucks, Boeser agree on new seven-year deal

Published

47 mins ago

on

July 1, 2025

By

Canucks, Boeser agree on new seven-year deal

  • Kristen ShiltonJul 1, 2025, 12:59 PM ET

    Close

      Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.

The Vancouver Canucks have come to terms with forward Brock Boeser on a new seven-year contract, carrying a $7.25 million AAV.

Canucks GM Patrik Allvin announced the deal on Tuesday during the first hour of NHL free agency. Boeser, 28, was an unrestricted free agent on a previously expiring contract.

Drafted by Vancouver 23rd overall in the 2015 NHL draft, Boeser has collected 204 goals and 434 points in 554 games with the Canucks to date. A top-six scoring threat, Boeser has elite playmaking skills and the potential to produce big numbers offensively. He had his best year offensively in 2023-24, producing 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games.

Boeser didn’t hit those marks again last season — settling for 25 goals and 50 points in 75 games — but was still second amongst teammates in output. He also plays a prominent role on Vancouver’s power play and when he can generate opportunities at 5-on-5, he is a true difference-maker up front for the Canucks.

The extension is a happy ending for Vancouver and Boeser. When the regular season ended, Boeser admitted “it’s tough to say” whether he’d be back with the Canucks. Boeser reportedly turned down a previous five-year extension offer with the club and Allvin subsequently looked into deals for him at the March trade deadline, with no takers. Boeser looked — and sounded — poised to explore his options on the open market.

Ultimately, Boeser decided to stay put by committing the best years of his career to the Canucks.

Continue Reading

Sports

Jake Allen agrees to 5-year deal with the Devils

Published

47 mins ago

on

July 1, 2025

By

Jake Allen agrees to 5-year deal with the Devils

Jake Allen, one of the top goaltenders available entering free agency, is not heading to the market after agreeing to a five-year deal with the New Jersey Devils, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.

Allen’s average annual value on the deal is $1.8 million, sources told ESPN. That AAV allows the Devils to run back the same goaltending tandem for next season.

Jacob Markstrom has one year remaining on his contract for $4.125 million. Nico Daws is also under contract for next season, before becoming a restricted free agent next summer.

Several teams were interested in the 34-year-old veteran, whom sources said could have made more money on the open market. However, the deal with the Devils gives Allen long-term security. Allen has played for the Blues, Canadiens and Devils over his 12-year-career. He has started in 436 career games.

Last season, Allen started 29 games for the Devils, going 13-16-1 with a .906 save percentage, 2.66 GAA and four shutouts.

Continue Reading

Sports

Capitals sign Fehervary to 7-year, $42M extension

Published

47 mins ago

on

July 1, 2025

By

Capitals sign Fehervary to 7-year, M extension

  • Ryan S. ClarkJul 1, 2025, 01:23 PM ET

    Close

      Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.

Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary signed a seven-year extension through the 2032-33 season that is worth $6 million annually, the team announced Tuesday.

Fehervary, who had one year of team control remaining, will enter the final season of a three-year bridge deal that will see him make $2.675 million before his new contract begins at the start of the 2026-27 season.

He finished the season with five goals and a career-high 25 points while logging 19 minutes. Fehervary also played a crucial role in the Capitals’ penalty kill by finishing with 245 short-handed minutes for a penalty kill that was fifth in the NHL with an 82% success rate.

Securing the 25-year-old Fehervary to a long-term deal means the Capitals now have seven players who have more than three years remaining on their current contracts.

It also means the Capitals front office has one less decision to make ahead of what is expected to be an active offseason in 2026 that will see the club have what PuckPedia projects to be $39.25 million in cap space.

That’s also the same offseason in which captain and NHL all-time leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin‘s contract will come off their books along with that of defenseman John Carlson.

But until then, the Capitals have their entire top-six defensive unit under contract as they seek to improve upon a 2024-25 season that saw them finish atop the Metropolitan Division with 111 points before they lost in the Eastern Conference semifinal to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.

Continue Reading

Trending