Brush with Armageddon: World-killer asteroid to narrowly miss our planet on Halloween – TheLiberal.ie – Our News, Your Views

Brush with Armageddon: World-killer asteroid to narrowly miss our planet on Halloween




asteroid

It’s going to be a close call. An asteroid the size of four football pitches is set to zoom past Earth at a mere 300,000 miles (480,000 km). In astronomical terms, this is literally a stone throw away from us.

The rock, classified as 2015 TB145 and appropriately nicknamed “The Great Pumpkin”, was only discovered hurtling towards Earth last month. It will shoot past our home planet at around 5pm on Halloween day, clocking up speeds of 22 miles per second.

Astronomers were taken by surprise by the sudden discovery, and they have used the chance to highlight the importance of remaining vigilant at all times.

Had the rock hit Earth, the survival of our species may have been in jeopardy. For now, mankind will live to fight another day.

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