An asteroid first discovered in 2007 that quickly got lost — astronomers don't know where it is — could hit Earth as soon as this year. M.S.N.
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The odds are long. Oct. Asteroid 2007 FT3 will hit us 11 million to 1 on 5, 2024 — not too high to cancel your Halloween party. A slightly higher probability of 1 in 10 million in 2030, MSN reported, citing NASA.
Asteroid 2007 FT3 was big enough to unleash the force of 2.6 billion tons of TNT — not enough to send the dinosaurs our way, but bad enough to literally mess up a continent. M.S.N.
They are our greatest chances of emerging unscathed. But remember, the odds of winning the billion-dollar lottery are 1 in 300 million, and it happens from time to time.
This particular asteroid is likely to hit Earth between 2024 and 2116, according to NASA. MSN said.
NASA has an entire department that tracks asteroids called the Center for Asteroids Near-Earth Object Probes. They estimate that there are about 32,000 known near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) and more than 120 short-period, near-Earth comets. The vast majority are not predicted to come close to Earth for hundreds of years.
There is an object with a cosmic name of 29075 (1950 DA) that is the second most dangerous rock to hit us. NASA said. It's actually big enough to do some damage — 0.81 miles, or 1.3 miles, long and weighing 78 million tons. It would release 75 billion tons of TNT, and that would be the curtains for humanity and possibly all life on Earth. M.S.N said.
NASA has plenty of time to think about what to do about it – 29075 (1950 DA) has a 1 in 34,000 chance of hitting Earth on March 16, 2880, which is astronomically like splitting your hair with a .30. 06.