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Musk's tweet was an answer to another of comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan, who was sharing an article reporting that NASA had begun preparations for the asteroid Apophis, 1,300 feet wide, to pass through. on Earth April 13, 2029. Apophis was named after an Egyptian god of death.
Uh What?
Musk was not wrong when he tweeted "Do not worry about this one in particular", though. Apophis will miss 19,000 miles. It is rare that such a large object is so close. NASA scientists will take this opportunity to observe the details of the surface and other elements likely to contribute to the planetary defense.
This is the next part of Musk's tweet that has left people scratching their heads.
Musk did not specify what he meant by "big rock", so it's hard to know what he's referring to.
However, the NASA website clearly states: "No known asteroid poses a significant risk of impact with the Earth over the next 100 years".
Lindley Johnson, NASA's Global Defense Coordination Office, reiterated this position in a statement.
"Although no known asteroid of a size greater than 140 meters has a significant chance of touching Earth for the next 100 years, NASA and its partners are investigating several different methods for the deviation of a dangerous asteroid, "he said.
Basically, even if an asteroid were heading towards Earth, scientists think that it will have the technology to deviate from its trajectory and avoid collisions.
NASA also has a designated department that finds undetected asteroids and tracks their orbits. They thus have data on the exact location of an asteroid in hundreds of years. Even if an undetected asteroid had slipped, said Johnson in a previous interview to CNN, this impact is extremely rare – it only happens once every two or three centuries.
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