Asteroid could hit Earth in 172 years

thinkingdog · #1 07-30-2010, 11:59 AM

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

"Astronomers have detected a half-kilometre wide asteroid that appears to be on a collision course with the Earth — in 172 years time.

In a study reported in the journal Icarus, scientists say the asteroid named 1999-RQ36 has a one-in-1,000 chance of hitting the Earth in 2182.

Known as a PHA, or potentially hazardous asteroid, 1999-RQ36 was first discovered about 10 years ago and since then astronomers have been plotting its orbital trajectory.

Co-author of the study, Dr. Maria Eugenia Sansaturio from Spain's Universidad de Valladolid, says the total impact probability for 1999-RQ36 is estimated to be 0.092 per cent, and that 2182 is the most likely year for an impact to occur.

The research also involved scientists from Italy's University of Pisa, the INAF-IASF Research Institute in Rome and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif."

Start planning ahead!