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Great news for those with a bad habit of forgetting Valentine’s Day; bad news if you would rather Earth not get clobbered by an asteroid.
On the off chance that Valentine’s Day sneaks up on you and you have to make a day-of run to the mall — or the situation is particularly dire, the nearest drug store — you may not have to worry about it in 2046.
NASA is keeping an eye on an asteroid that could potentially hit Earth on Valentine’s Day, but not until 2046. They call it 2023 DW and it was only discovered a couple of weeks ago. While other asteroids drift harmlessly past Earth, 2023 DW may plow directly into us.
It has the European Space Agency’s attention for sure. Astronomers only discovered this asteroid on February 26. In that time, it’s already jumped to the top of their list of space objects that could impact Earth.
It Doesn’t Sound Like This Asteroid Will Be Cataclysmic
Fortunately for those of us that have grown to love — or at least, tolerate — this planet, there’s good news. The expectation is that 2023 DW wouldn’t be capable of doing catastrophic damage.
This particular asteroid measures a paltry 1 on the Torino scale. That means it will pose “no unusual level of danger.”
NASA is watching it too, but seems just as apathetic about what it can do.
So, no; we won’t need anyone to go up there and deal with it Armageddon-style.
While the expectation is that it would make impact on Valentine’s Day 2046 it could come a few years later. The European Space Agency thinks it could hit on Valentine’s Day any year from 2047 to 2051.
Fellas, jot this down in your calendar (although by 2046 will probably be embedded in our brains).
I don’t know about you, but to me, this sounds like the perfect out for you who happen to forget about Valentine’s Day in 23 years. You were just too concerned about the asteroid to focus on buying a box of Russell Stover chocolates or scoring dinner reservations.
Follow on Twitter: @Matt_Reigle
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