Mountain Sized Asteroid Crossing Paths with Earth Discovered
In a surprise discovery, an asteroid the size of a mountain was found to be orbiting the sun and crossing paths with Earth.
Though not an immediately threat, its discovering shows how very little is known about such objects, claimed Vladimir Lipunov, the scientist at Moscow State University who discovered it. However, should the asteroid hit our planet, its impact would be 1,000 times stronger than what the bus-size meteorite caused when it hit Chelyabinsk, Russia last year, The Telegraph reported.
"Every couple of days new ones are being discovered. Scientists have increasingly powerful tools to do this work, but there's a lot still to be done. Every object that crosses the Earth's path can be a potential threat," said Lipunov according to Christian Science Monitor adding that it is not expected to hit Earth anytime soon.
NASA too has clarified that the 400 meter diameter asteroid 2014 UR 116 poses no threat.
"While this approximately 400-meter sized asteroid has a three year orbital period around the sun and returns to the Earth's neighborhood periodically, it does not represent a threat because its orbital path does not pass sufficiently close to the Earth's orbit," a statement made by the office of Near Earth Object Program. The office further said models predict that an impact threat from this object can be ruled out in the next 150 years.
Lipunov claimed in a video documentary that objects as big as 2014 UR 116, are difficult to monitor as their trajectories are constantly changing. He however added that efforts have to be made as several near Earth objects like last year's Chelyabinsk meteorite can hit without warning.
