It was around 65 million years back that a giant asteroid hit the earth and resulted in the extinction of dinosaurs. Several space experts including Dr Iain McDonald believe that the dreaded events like asteroid hits are not confined to the past, and it will happen in the future too. Expecting such an incident, NASA, the United States space agency is now developing a planetary defence weapon to protect the planet. The space agency is also vigorously tracking near-earth objects (NEO) that may pose a threat to the planet in the future.
Now, NASA has warned that an asteroid named 2007 FT3 may hit the planet on October 02, 2024. Due to its trajectory, the asteroid has been now picked up by the Sentry, NASA's impact monitoring system.
The space agency revealed that asteroid 2007 FT3 may hit the earth between 2024 and 2116. It should be noted that 2007 FT3 is an Apollo class asteroid, and it means the orbit of this space body will interact with that of the earth, as these rocks travel around the sun. If factors like gravitational keyhole affect the asteroid, then the chances of a mid-air collision will be increased dramatically.
As per the current analysis, asteroid 2007 FT3 is more than 1100 feet in length, and it is currently screeching through space at a speed of 46,000 miles per hour. If the asteroid hits the earth at such breathtaking speed, it will cause massive devastation on a regional scale.
A few days back, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory had confirmed that a very tiny asteroid measuring just 42 feet had a close flyby within 65,100 miles away from the earth's surface. At the time of its close approach, the asteroid was traveling at a speed of 19,300 miles per hour and the space agency discovered this object just 24 hours before the close approach. As NASA discovered the space rock at the last minute, many sceptics argued that the space agency's planetary defence mission has become obsolete.
