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- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An asteroid will pass close by the Earth in the year
2028, and could conceivably hit us, astronomers warned Wednesday.
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- They said the asteroid, which had not
been seen before, would pass as close as 30,000 miles to the Earth.
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- ``The chance of an actual collision is
small, but one is not entirely out of the question,'' the International
Astronomical Union (IAU) said in a statement.
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- The asteroid, a mile in diameter, has
been named 1997 XF11. It was discovered by Jim Scotti of the University
of Arizona.
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- ``It was added to the list of 'potentially
hazardous objects' (PHAs) that need to be monitored, lest they are destined
to come dangerously close to the earth over the course of the next several
centuries. There are currently 108 PHAs,'' the IAU said.
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- Latest observations show it will pass
as close as 30,000 miles from the center of the Earth. ``The time of encounter
would be around 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time Thursday, October 26, 2028,''
the IAU said.
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- ``That evening the object should be visible
with the naked eye. In Europe, where it would be dark by that time, the
object should be a splendid sight as it moves from northwest to southeast
across the sky over a couple of hours.''
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- The IAU said the computations were still
uncertain and it was not clear whether the asteroid might come even closer.
It asked amateur astronomers to look for the asteroid.
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- ``It should be quite accessible for a
while with large telescopes, which in addition to helping establish whether
a collision in 2028 is possible, could usefully provide more definite information
about the object's size.''
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- An asteroid that slammed into the Earth
65 million years ago is believed to have kicked up so much dust that it
wiped out the dinosaurs.
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