It’s not worth panicking over, but it is at least worth mentioning the “chance” that a giant asteroid could hit the planet.
Its calculated trajectory varies, with reports claiming it will arrive March 5, or between the 7th and 8th, and will hurl as close as 11,000 miles away from Earth, but that’s about as close as anything close to its size has come on record.
Lexi Morgan at Intellihub.com explains:
NASA has now updated its Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s close approach data to reflect a 22 hour window of uncertainty regarding asteroid 2013 TX68, which is currently set to nearly graze Earth.
NASA hopes the massive chunk of rock will pass safely by Earth at a distance of around 18,000 miles between the dates of Mar. 7, at 1 p.m. and Mar. 8, until 11 a.m. Eastern Time.
It’s also worthy to note that even if the asteroid safety passes the planet, it still has the potential to collide with the moon, orbiting satellites, the International Space Station or other space-based platforms.
The Sun story adds additional details:
NASA has admitted there is a chance the asteroid 2013 TX68, a 100ft-wide rock which is currently heading towards us, could impact earth.
The asteroid is due to pass earth on March 5 by as close as 11,000 miles however NASA says there is “a chance” it could actually hurtle into our planet on September 28, 2017.
But NASA puts the odds of this happening at “no more than 1-in-250-million.”
[…]
NASA has said it could be anywhere between 9 million miles and 11,000 miles. This large range is due to a wide range of possible trajectories since it was tracked for only a short time after discovery.
Though there’s only a fraction of a chance that we will be entering a doomsday scenario ripped from the pages of Hollywood in a period of just a few days from now, scientists also point out that it could wreak havoc on the moon, or satellite and man-made space infrastructure.
So, there could be noteworthy damage. Maybe.
Regardless, it is a reminder of the fragility and mortality of our condition here. There are many disturbing forces, and there is little reason to remain well adjusted to them.