Post date: Oct 11, 2013 10:26:29 PM
USA (Next Media) - NASA scientists believe a giant asteroid called 1950DA could collide with Earth in the year 2880.
The 1.1-kilometre-wide asteroid travels at about 15 kilometres per second relative to Earth. The celestial rock was first discovered in February 1950. Scientists observed the asteroid for 17 days before it disappeared, only to resurface again on December 31, 2000.
Scientists now believe asteroid 1950 DA travels along a trajectory that will bring it very close to Earth on March 16, 2880.
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists J.D. Giorgini, S.J. Ostro, Don Yeomans and several others from the laboratory and other institutions performed radar analysis and other research on 1950DA. They believe it has a 0.3 percent probability of colliding with the Earth.
This represents a risk 50 percent greater than the average hazard from all other known asteroid threats between now and 2880. If a collision occurs, it would slam into the Atlantic Ocean at a speed of 61,155 kilometres per hour, with a force of 44,800 megatonnes of TNT.
There are roughly 1,400 potentially hazardous asteroids that could pass close to Earth, reports indicate.
NASA tracks all 1,400 potentially hazardous asteroids identified so far, forecasting their future close approaches and impact probabilities.
SOURCES:
Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/10/09/meet-asteroid-that-might-hit-earth-in-2880/
Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2454094/Could-life-Earth-end-March-16-2880-Scientists-predict-giant-asteroid-collide-planet-38-000-miles-hour.html
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