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Earth Set for an ‘Asteroid Encounter’ This Week; 750ft Space Rock Could be ‘Potentially Hazardous'

posted by cmn32480 on Monday June 26 2017, @05:02PM   Printer-friendly
from the time-to-get-off-this-rock dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

The asteroid – named 441987 (2010 NY65) – is marked as a concern because it's 230 metres in diameter and travelling just 7.9 lunar distances (that's about three million km) from us.

[...] If it were to strike, its weight could impact with a force 300 times greater than the Hiroshima bomb, scientists have predicted.

2010 NY65 was discovered on July 10, 2010 by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft and is expected to make yearly close approaches to Earth until 2022.

It might sound far-fetched, but experts have warned that an asteroid crash that would wipe out humanity could be imminent.

Dr Alan Fitzsimmons, speaking ahead of asteroid week this month, said there is currently nothing we can do to stop a large space rock heading our way – and the impact would be catastrophic.

Well, an asteroid impact is certainly one way to solve all our problems.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @06:01PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @06:01PM (#531436)

    "influenza epidemic at the end of WWI that probably killed more people as a percentage"

    They were also giving people now-illegal dosages of aspirin, when they got sicker they would keep dosing them more and more, which causes the same symptoms as the pandemic...