Why Valentine’s Day is trending on Holi

When India is celebrating Holi, Valentine’s Day is one of the top trends on Google. The reason: an asteroid. The recently-discovered 2023 DW asteroid is currently among European Space Agency's risk list for near-Earth objects that could impact our planet. Possible date, according to European Space Agency: Valentine’s Day in 2046.

The asteroid is estimated about 50 meters in diameter.

Near-earth objects asteroids and comets orbit the Sun like the planets, but at times their orbits can bring them into Earth’s neighborhood. Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are asteroids and comets that orbit the Sun like the planets, but their orbits can bring them into Earth’s neighborhood. NASA established the Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) to manage its ongoing mission of planetary defense. The PDCO sponsors studies of technologies and techniques for deflecting an asteroid off a predicted impact course with Earth.


"We've been tracking a new asteroid named 2023 DW that has a very small chance of impacting Earth in 2046. Often when new objects are first discovered, it takes several weeks of data to reduce the uncertainties and adequately predict their orbits years into the future," NASA said in a tweet.

The American agency said that its scientist will continue to monitor asteroid 2023 DW and update predictions as more data comes in.

Valentine's Day is also in news after British Retail Consortium released retail sales data for February. Valentine's Day helped boost British retail sales in February but volumes remained down on last year.

"Retail sales held up better than expected this February, though volumes remained down on last year. While the cost-of-living crisis has made customers increasingly price sensitive, they are still ready to celebrate special occasions. This helped deliver strong sales of fragrance and jewellery for Valentine's Day. Energy-saving appliances also continued to sell well, but the rush for warm coats and boots subsided as the January sales splurge satisfied customer appetite," said Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief Executive, BRC.