A COLOSSAL asteroid hurtling through space is feared to be one of the biggest EVER to threaten a collision with Earth.
Asteroid 1999 FN53 is travelling faster than 30,000 mph and will brush terrifyingly close to Earth on Thursday.The asteroid is currently hurtling around the Earth fifty times faster than a jumbo jet and double the speed of a space rocket..
Though several million miles away astronomers fear a slight deviation from its orbit will put it on a headlong collision course with the planet.
The gigantic missile thought to measure almost a mile across will brush closer than previous monsters which have sparked a global panic.Worried astronomers warned 1999 FN53, which is an eighth of the size of Mount Everest, will skim the Earth in THREE DAYS.
A collision would be nothing short of catastrophic triggering mass destruction, earthquakes and global extinction. The monster is more than TEN TIMES bigger than other meteorites currently visible on NASA’s Near Earth Object radar.
It is also double the size of the gargantuan 2014-YB35 which had astronomers around the world watching the skies in March.
Experts warn a collision would trigger an explosion similar to millions of megatons of TNT and would be capable of killing 1.5 billion people.
NASA’s Near Earth Object Programme puts the enormous lump of rock on course to pass within six million miles of Earth on May 14. In astronomical terms this is a tiny distance and close enough to prompt astronomers to keep an eye on it until is passes safely.
EXPRESS UK
Read more here: http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/576300/Asteroid-1999-FN53-Earth-May-14-mass-extinction-NASA
Goldstone Asteroid Schedule
Upcoming Goldstone Observations http://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroids/1999FN53/1999FN53_planning.html
This object was observed by NASA’s NEOWISE mission in mid-April. Preliminary results reported by J. Masierto suggest a diameter of roughly 1 km.
Last update: 2015 Apr 27
Lunar Meteorite Hunter http://lunarmeteoritehunters.blogspot.gr/2015/04/neo-asteroids-may-2015-close-approaches.htm
