Asteroid could hit earth with force of 2.6bn tons of TNT this year
Technology
Scientists discovered the asteroid nearly 20 years ago, but it was mysteriously lost
(Web Desk) - An asteroid lost to scientists over a decade ago is back, and while the chances are slim, it could strike earth with the force of 2.6 billion tons of TNT this year.
Nasa said in a statement to MSN that asteroid FT3, first discovered and then lost in 2007, has a 1 in 10 million chance of colliding with Earth on October 5.
The force of such a collision wouldn't be planet-ending, but it could significantly damage a continent.
Scientists say it's very likely we'll escape just fine, but WPXI notes in a report that even sometimes people win the billion-dollar lottery, and those odds are 1 in 300 million.
The real threat to Earth, MSN reports, is asteroid 29075. That asteroid would hit the planet with the force of 75 billion tons of TNT, and yes, experts say that's enough to end humanity.
That asteroid has a 1 in 34,500, chance of hitting Earth on March 16, 2880.
Nasa has completed a major test of its asteroid sample return mission, which is slated to drop to Earth on Sept. 24.
When the drop-off really happens, the ejected capsule will be taken to a clean room at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range outside Salt Lake City before being sent to Houston, where the samples will be documented and distributed to scientists around the world.
