At the moment, we simply wouldn't see it coming. This time, he had said the asteroid would fly past Earth sometime during early 2021. While highly unlikely, that was the high-consequence scenario discussed by attendees at an Oct DART, which has a launch window opening in July 2021, will visit a binary asteroid system where two asteroids orbit one another and aim to deflect a small asteroid The Has NASA Issued Warning of Huge Rock to Hit Earth The Has NASA Issued Warning of Huge Rock to Hit Earth. While the incident demonstrated that small asteroids can be of concern, there is a long way to go before missions like DART suggest our planetary defences are capable of protecting them.Ī similar explosion in cities such as New York or London could kill thousands of people, especially if it compromised the structural integrity of a large building. Astrologer Nostradamus has made 6,338 predictions out of which 3797 prophecies have apparently proved correct. "The Chelyabinsk object was just about 60ft (18m) wide, demonstrating that even small asteroids can be of concern - and making real-world tests of space-based planetary defence systems all the more important," the university added.
'This is the closest predicted approach in 2021 for any moderately large asteroid, where 'moderately large' means at least several. "Astronomers estimate there are tens of thousands of near-Earth asteroids close to 500ft (150m) wide and larger, big enough to cause regional devastation if they actually hit Earth. The asteroid, officially known by NASA as 231937, is smaller.
Image: Thousands of buildings suffered damage following the meteor's explosionĪccording to Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, the Chelyabinsk meteor created "an airburst and shockwave that struck six cities across the country - and a stark reminder that dangerous objects can enter Earth's atmosphere at any time".