Scientists have found a 1,300-foot asteroid heading for Earth that could wipe out mankind in 2032.
Asteroid
2013 TV135 was discovered moving through the Camelopardalis
constellation by scientists at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in
southern Ukraine last week.
It
has been rated as one of the two most dangerous ever recorded – but
even so the odds of the object hitting the planet are slim.
The
likelihood of 2013 TV135 striking Earth is estimated at 1 in 63,000 –
so there is a 99.9984 percent chance that life will continue as normal.
The blast would be 50 times greater than the biggest nuclear bomb and could damage more than 100,000 square miles.
Gennady
Borisov, who discovered the asteroid, said: “I was watching the Giraffe
constellation, it was an in-depth monitoring as part of the comet
search program. This is when the asteroid… was discovered. The first
observations show that it moves quickly and is relatively close.”
According
to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, if the asteroid misses it will
still pass within 1 million miles of Earth’s orbit.
That’s a little too close for comfort - and so Nasa have deemed it “potentially hazardous.”
The
object will be better examined by scientists in 2024, when it is closer
and its orbit and potential impact zone can be analysed.
Another
similarly hazardous asteroid is the 2007 VK184, which is believed to
have the likelier chance of hitting the planet. However, it is much
smaller 420-foot wide and is still reported to have a 1 in 2700 chance
of striking Earth in 2048.
Space agencies, including Nasa, continually monitor for space objects which may pose a risk to Earth.
Last
year an asteroid as large as an Olympic swimming pool raced past the
Earth at a distance of just 27,700km (17,200mi) – the closest ever for
an object that size.
The head of NASA revealed that the best way to handle a large asteroid heading for Earth… is to PRAY.
Charles
Bolden told Congress that prayer was all the experts or anyone else
could currently do about asteroids that may be on a collision course
with the planet.
Over
1,500 people were injured when a meteor exploded over Chelyabinsk,
Russia, last month – generating shock waves that shattered windows and
damaged buildings.
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