Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Large Asteroid Will Not Hit Earth in 2040

Don't mark your doomsday calendars: 2040 asteroid won't hit Earth

Gemini telescope

The Gemini telescope sits atop the summit of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano, at sunrise. The Gemini North telescope has picked up signs that a giant asteroid won't be hitting Earth in 2040. Earlier analyses suggested it might be possible. (December 24, 2012) 

For those of you disappointed that the world didn’t end last week, there’s more bad news: The world probably won’t be ending in 2040, either – not from a certain giant asteroid, anyway.

Astronomers using the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii have found that the asteroid 2011 AG5 is no longer a major threat – it won’t be hitting Earth in February 2040, as had been earlier feared. That’s good to know, given that an asteroid that large – roughly 150 yards across – would have hit the Earth with several thousand times the combined energy of the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II.

More - Link >>> http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-end-of-world-mayan-asteroid-20121224,0,6049724.story?track=rss

Source: Los Angeles Times.

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