Russian astronomers have discovered a large asteroid hurling toward earth is expected to come back Aug.26, 2032 Fox News reported.
"A [1,200-foot] asteroid is threatening to blow up the Earth," Dmitry Rogozin, Russian vice-premier said on his twitter account. "Here is a super target for the national cosmonautics."
This week, astronomers noticed the rock was quickly approaching earth at an angle which could have done tremendous harm to the planet if it hit it.
However, chances of the rock coming into contact with earth when it returns are one in 63,000 RTI Novosti reported. According to news.com, NASA has found there is a 99.998 percent chance the asteroid will fly past earth when it comes again.
"To put it another way that puts the current probability of no impact in 2032 at about 99.998 percent," Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's NEO or Near Earth Object Program at the administration's Jet Propulsion Laboratory told Fox News. "This is a relatively new discovery," "With more observations, I fully expect we will be able to significantly reduce, or rule out entirely, any impact probability for the foreseeable future."
If it were to come into earth this week, the 2013 version of the asteroid named TV135 would have had an explosion measuring 2,500 megatons of TNT RTI Novosti reported.
Astronomers have also rated the asteroid a one out of 10 on the torino scale or method NASA uses for impact hazards according to information on NASA's website.
Although 2032 is a long way off, in 2028 astronomers will be able to better detect how much of an impact the asteroid will have if it indeed smacks into the earth, along with where it will land.
TV135 measures 400 meters in diameter. A small asteroid measuring 30 meters in diameter could also damage the earth just as much.
