Who says the world is only full of bad news? NASA has largely dismissed a Russian report that an asteroid larger than two football fields could hit Earth by 2036. In other words, you can relax.
Known as "99942 Apophis," the 900-foot-long asteroid has had the attention of scientists for some time. According to an article from SPACE.com, back in 2004, NASA scientists announced that Apophis could hit the planet in 2029. But, after further number crunching, that prediction was later retracted.
The asteroid hurtled back into the news when Russia recently predicted 99942 Apophis may hit Earth on April 13, 2036. NASA acknowledges that there is a chance this may happen, but it is far from likely. Donald Yeomans, who heads up NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office, estimates the odds at around 1 in 250,000. And, don't worry — NASA does have a backup plan. Should the need arise, the space agency will construct machinery to change the asteroid's orbit.
The Russian scientists are also hedging their bets. Professor Leonid Sokolov of St. Petersburg State University remarked that 99942 Apophis would most likely disintegrate before hitting Earth.
Still, a chance is a chance, and Web searchers immediately sought more information on the errant asteroid. Online lookups for "99942 Apophis" jumped sharply while "pictures of asteroids" and "apophis nasa report" also posted strong spikes in the Search box.
And while the odds of 99942 Apophis "hitting home" are blissfully slim, there are some in the scientific community who believe its high time for "Earth protection strategies" just in case. Discovery.com lists several theories as to how best tackle any objects that might be on a collision course with Earth.
Odds are we'll never need them. But it's better to be safe than to end up in a situation that resembles a Michael Bay movie.
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