Adi’s Blog

Tuesday, September 2, 2003 Posted: 11:38
AM EDT (1538 GMT)

LONDON, England (Reuters) — A giant
asteroid is heading for Earth and could
hit in 2014, U.S. astronomers have
warned British space monitors.

But for those fearing Armageddon, don’t
be alarmed — the chances of a
catastrophic collision are just one in
909,000.

Asteroid "2003 QQ47" will be closely
monitored over the next two months. Its
potential strike date is March 21, 2014,
but astronomers say that any risk of
impact is likely to decrease as further
data is gathered.

On impact, it could have the effect of
20 million Hiroshima atomic bombs, a
spokesman for the British government’s
Near Earth Object Information Centre
told BBC radio.

The Centre issued the warning about the
asteroid after the giant rock was first
observed in New Mexico by the Lincoln
Near Earth Asteroid Research Program.

"The Near Earth Object will be
observable from Earth for the next two
months and astronomers will continue to
track it over this period," said Dr Alan
Fitzsimmons, one of the expert team
advising the Centre.

Asteroids such as 2003 QQ47 are chunks
of rock left over from the formation of
the solar system 4.5 billion years ago.
Most are kept at a safe distance from
the Earth in the asteroid belt between
Mars and Jupiter.

But the gravitational influence of giant
planets such as Jupiter can nudge
asteroids out of these safe orbits and
send them plunging towards Earth.

Haha.. cepat2 la bertaubat. keh keh
keh.. anyway, kalau nak tau lebih
lanjut, layari website CNN kat
makeURL(”http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/09/02/asteroid.reut/index.html”,”eHNsL2J1bGxldGluLnhzbA==”);http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/09/02/asteroid.reut/index.html
.

-adiputra (sedikit info ku kongsi bersama)