NASA tracking new asteroid that has 'very small chance of impacting Earth in 2046'

NASA's scientists are tracking a recently discovered asteroid that has a accidental of impacting Earth successful 2046.

It's a "very small" chance, according to NASA's Planetary Defence Coordination Office - astir 1 successful 600.

The abstraction agency's orbit analysts are keeping a adjacent oculus connected the asteroid, which is astir the size of an Olympic swimming pool.

The asteroid, named 2023 DW, is presently apical of the European Space Agency's "risk list".

It was archetypal spotted connected 28 February.

It has the imaginable to deed Earth connected 14 February 2046, oregon successful the pursuing years up until 2051.

NASA's Asteroid Watch said its analysts volition show 2023 DW and update predictions arsenic much information comes in.

Astronomer Piero Sicoli, coordinator of the Italian Sormano Astronomical Observatory, laid retired his calculations for the asteroid's trajectory connected Twitter, estimating determination to beryllium a 1 successful 400 accidental of the asteroid hitting Earth.

If it did, his calculations - based connected what is presently known astir the asteroid - suggest it could collide betwixt the Indian Ocean and the eastbound seashore of the US. The reddish dots connected the representation bespeak a imaginable interaction zone.

However, Mr Sicoli said helium mapped the imaginable collision arsenic an workout and said "surely this anticipation volition soon beryllium ruled out".

There are astir 31,000 asteroids being tracked - up from astir 9,500 successful 2013.

Since the Chelyabinsk meteor struck Russia successful 2013, injuring 1,100 people, the tracking programme has been stepped up.

NASA is moving connected the $1.2bn (£985m) Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor for motorboat successful 2028, which volition beryllium the archetypal abstraction scope specifically designed to hunt asteroids and comets that whitethorn beryllium imaginable hazards to Earth.

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (Dart) spacecraft is besides successful the works. During investigating past year, it was deliberately crashed into an asteroid and successfully altered its orbit.