You might want to start writing your will because the world may get hit with an asteroid as big as the Great Pyramid of Giza in the year 2022. Express wrote that NASA released a statement after they have forecasted that an asteroid (JF1) is making its way towards planet Earth. Gg liao.
The Great Pyramid of Giza | Source: Wikipedia
The 420ft (roughly 100m) rock is predicted to come in contact with our planet on 6th May 2022 and it will not look pretty. NASA said that if JF1 continues at the current trajectory, it could strike Earth “with a force of 230 kilotonnes” – which is equivalent to 230,000 tonnes of TNT (explosives).
What’s even scarier is that the impact that Earth will face is 15 times larger than the bomb that America dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. Not only that, but scientists said that if the asteroid were to strike a highly-populated area, it could possibly wipe out a whole city and cause many deaths. We’re talking millions here.
Source: Express
They also warned that even if it hit “the remotest part of the Pacific Ocean”, it could still cause natural disasters like tsunamis and nuclear winter. Nevertheless, NASA reckoned that the probability of the asteroid hitting the East is very low.
NASA elaborated that there is a “one in 3,800 odds” that the asteroid will actually strike Earth on the above-mentioned date. They shared that there is a “small but appreciable chance” for the asteroid to hit Earth. Phew!
Source: Forbes
But, NASA has decided to keep an eye on the asteroid through Sentry which is their “near-Earth monitoring system” to avoid the possibility of it hitting our planet. NASA was quoted as saying,
“Sentry is a highly automated collision monitoring system that continually scans the most current asteroid catalogue for possibilities of future impact with Earth over the next 100 years.”
Source: MARS
On the other hand, the European Space Agency (ESA) mission will conduct a closely monitored survey on “the post-impact asteroid”. The mission named Hera will collect important information like the data mentioned below:
- Asteroid’s composition
- Size of the crater left behind after the impact
Other asteroids that could strike Earth in future | Source: Express
What’s your take on this revelation by NASA? Fire away in the comments below!
Also read: NASA Released Shocking Images of Indonesia’s Haze Which Can Be Seen Even From Outer Space
