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19 March 2024

Huge asteroid heading for Earth... possible impact March 16, 2880

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By Staff

Researchers studying a huge asteroid that is hurtling towards earth say there is a possibility of it striking our planet on March 16, 2880!

They say the rock rotates so quickly that it should break apart, but it remained intact on its Earth-bound trajectory, according to a report in Dailymail.co.uk

Though studies have revealed that Asteroid 1950DA  is held together by cohesive forces called van der Waals, scientists still have no clue on how to stop it.

The rock is about 3,280ft (1,000 metres) in diameter and rotates once every two hours and six minutes.

At this rate, the rock should break apart and eventually disintegrate, but it is not showing any signs of doing so.

Although the probability of an impact is only 0.3 per cent, this represents a risk 50 per cent greater than an impact from all other asteroids.

However, scientists claim there is no cause for concern because the hundreds of years of warning could allow for a method to divert it, such as dusting the surface of the asteroid with chalk or charcoal, or white glass beads. This would change its reflectivity and allow sunlight to do the work of pushing the asteroid out of the way.

Nasa is currently tracking all 1,400 potentially hazardous asteroids so far identified and predicting their future close approaches and impact probabilities.

(Home page image courtesy Shutterstock)