There are more than 1000 deadly asteroids found hurtling towards Earth, and NASA is struggling to deflect their orbital paths. So far, the paths of only four might be diverted.
A huge meteor about the size of a mountain could totally demolishing our planet, say astronomers. And it could happen anytime in the coming decades.
A report released by Nature World News explains that about 1,000 asteroids are hurtling towards the Earth at 60,000 miles per hour and that some of them could hit our planet. A number of the near-Earth asteroids have been identified. There are more of them waiting to be discovered in the next two years!
With powerful telescopes, experts are trying to gauge how close 2000 ET70 is going to get to the Earth. This two-mile wide space rock stirred astronomers from a number of American universities, who called it a "potentially hazardous asteroid". However, not much is known about this fist-shaped asteroid, says NASA. The huge asteroid can decimate the Earth, leading to massive earthquakes, tidal waves and widespread "apocalyptic scenes."
The asteroid is said to have already brushed past the Earth in 2012, when it came within 18 lunar distances. That was pretty close! And it might revisit our planet soon, coming so close that it could hit us.
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Bright Orionid meteors are set to light up the sky Thursday night, as Earth passes through debris left behind by Halley's Comet. But whether the moon will spoil the view is the question.
On the night of Thursday, October 20, to Friday, October 21, the sky is expected to light up with streaks of light due to the Orionid meteor shower.
Although the Orionids - the second of two meteor showers during the year that originate from Halley's Comet- go on for over a month, from early October to early November, the shower typically reaches its peak somewhere around October 20-24.
This year, the peak is expected on the night of October 20-21, as Earth passes through the greatest concentration of comet debris in Halley's trail.
Wait for the constellation of Orion - The Hunter - to rise that night to find the meteor shower's radiant, which is the point in the sky from which all the meteors appear to radiate out.
The Orionids, under ideal conditions, produces about 20 meteor streaks per hour. In other words, there should be zero light pollution, including no moon in the sky. Compared to meteor showers like the Perseids and the Geminids, which can produce over 100 meteors per hour, the Orionids are weaker.
Earlier, this happened during the 2007 shower, when the meteor rate jumped up to 70 per hour!
This year is not expected to be an outburst, and the waning gibbous moon will be in the sky that night, tracking along right next to the radiant from the time they both rise (about 10:30 p.m. local time) until dawn. So, unfortunately, the moon's light will end up washing out many of the meteors, making this particular shower difficult to see.
The shower originates from the point near the constellation Orion, which rises in the east around 10:30 p.m. and then traces a path towards the south, climbing higher in the sky with each passing hour, until dawn.
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