NASA has detected an asteroid that could cause chaos on Earth next year



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NASA has detected an asteroid that could impact the Earth next year, causing long-term chaos for our planet's climate and profoundly affecting the atmosphere. It might sound like a sci-fi movie script, but it's actually more realistic than people might think.

L & # 39; asteroid

The asteroid is officially named "1998 OR2" and has a diameter of about two and a half miles. According to the Center for Near Earth Studies, it is expected to fly over our planet on April 29, 2020, around 10 am It is expected to fly about 3.9 million kilometers from Earth, but a collision caused by mitigating factors is still possible.

Possible causes of a collision

One of the causes of a hypothetical collision is the effect Yarkovsky in which the heat exerted by an internal object, such as a star, can change the rotation of an asteroid and push it into a fatal collision course with our planet.

Another potential factor is the fact that the asteroid can pass through a gravitational keyhole, where the gravitational force of the Earth is powerful enough to change its trajectory.

The diameter of the asteroid is about the size of Central Park in New York and could cover much of London from Covent Garden north of Islington.

Former Republican Congressman and NASA administrator Jim Brindenstine warned that even if an impact is not likely to occur in the next century, the eventual collision can not be ruled out.

"We need to make sure people understand that it's not Hollywood or cinema," said Jim Brindenstine.

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