<div><b><span style="font-size: 1rem;">An asteroid large enough to destroy a city will pass between the orbits of the Earth and the Moon this weekend - luckily for us, missing both.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>The object, named 2023 DZ2, was discovered a month ago.</div><div><br></div><div>At 19:49 GMT on Saturday, it will pass within 175,000km of the Earth after flying past the Moon.</div><div><br></div><div>It is rare for such a huge asteroid - estimated to be between 40 and 90m in diameter - to come so close to the planet.</div><div><br></div><div>Astronomers have described it as a once-in-a decade event.</div><div><br></div><div>According to Nasa, it's an important opportunity for astronomers to increase their knowledge of asteroids, in the event that a dangerous object were discovered with the potential to hit Earth.</div><div><br></div><div>"There is no chance of this 'city killer' striking Earth, but its close approach offers a great opportunity for observations," said the European Space Agency's planetary defence chief, Richard Moissl.</div><div><br></div><div>Mr Moissl said preliminary data suggested 2023 DZ2 was "a scientifically interesting object".</div><div><br></div><div>But he added that more data was needed to determine the asteroid's composition.</div><div><br></div><div>With such a close pass of the Earth, the asteroid could be visible through binoculars and small telescopes across the globe.</div><div><br></div><div>A live web broadcast of its approach will be provided by The Virtual Telescope Project.</div><div><br></div><div>The object looks set to return towards Earth's orbit in 2026, but scientists have ruled it out as a threat to the planet on that occasion, too.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier this month, a similarly sized asteroid, 2023 DW, was briefly given a one-in-432 chance of hitting Earth on Valentine's Day 2046.</div><div><br></div><div>Moissl said 2023 DW was now expected to miss Earth by some 4.3 million km.</div><div><br></div><div>Even if such an asteroid was determined to be heading our way, Earth is no longer defenceless.</div><div><br></div><div>Last year, NASA's Dart (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft deliberately slammed into the pyramid-sized asteroid Dimorphos.</div><div><br></div><div>Before Dart's impact, it took Dimorphos 11 hours and 55 minutes to orbit its larger parent asteroid, Didymos. - BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>