Lost 54-Million-Ton Asteroid 2007 FT3 Unlikely to Hit Earth, NASA Says

A massive space rock that has been lost is unlikely to collide with Earth. NASA, tracking near-Earth objects (NEOs), released a statement to ease the public's concern about the lost asteroid 2007 FT3.

Earth Is Safe From Lost Asteroid 2007 FT3 In 2024

NASA has allayed fears that Earth would be struck by a vast 54-million-ton asteroid this year, which would wipe out large areas of the world.

In reaction to a story published in November by GB News suggesting that 2007 FT3 had little probability of striking Earth in 2024, the space agency released a statement.

After first observing the 984-foot asteroid in 2007, scientists finally lost sight of it and labeled it a "lost asteroid."

"There are no known asteroid impact threats to Earth at any time in the next century. NASA and its partners diligently watch the skies to find, track, and categorize asteroids and near-Earth objects (NEOs), including those that come close to Earth," NASA said.

Before losing sight of the asteroid, scientists could find data on it. The asteroid was added to NASA's Sentry Risk Table, which lists objects that may impact Earth.

NASA estimates that the probability of 2007 FT3 hitting Earth on Oct. 5, 2024, is at 0.0000087 percent, or 1 in 11.5 million chance. According to NASA, there is a 0.0000096 percent chance, or 1 in 10 million, that it will hit Earth on March 3, 2030.

The asteroid might explode with enough energy to destroy 2.6 billion tons of TNT if it collides with Earth.

This would be sufficient to unleash massive havoc on the local environment but not enough to trigger a major worldwide calamity similar to the one that ended the dinosaur era.

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Hazardous Asteroid in Near-Earth Objects' Path Identified

Another massive space asteroid hitting Earth one day is as inevitable as the Sun rising and the tides changing. For billions of years past and billions of years ahead, it has happened and will continue to happen.

Astronomers examined the closest impact on Earth. They concentrated on the changes throughout thousands and millennia in this closest distance. They did this by running many simulations that, taking into account the uncertainty in the current orbital positions and velocities of the near-Earth objects (NEOs), drew as many different orbital pathways as they could.

Scientists have identified one NEO in particular, asteroid 7482, as threatening. This asteroid will be near Earth for a considerable portion of the next thousand years.

However, it shows that this rock has the highest chance of crashing with Earth in the next thousand years, even though it does not guarantee it will.

Asteroid 143651, whose orbit is so unpredictable that it is difficult to predict its precise location for more than a few decades, is another asteroid that the researchers highlighted. Astronomers are, therefore, unable to say if it poses any hazard, given our current understanding of its position and velocity.

The astronomers identified twenty-eight NEO candidates as having a non-zero possibility of a "deep encounter."