Around 66 million years ago, a giant asteroid hit planet earth with its full fury and resulted in the extinction of dinosaurs. Since then, no such event has happened, and it played a crucial role in determining the evolution of human beings. However, space experts strongly believe that devastating events like asteroid hits are not confined to the past, and they will happen in the future too.
NASA, the United States space agency is also monitoring near-earth objects (NEO) that could pose threat to earth one day or another. And now, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has spotted an asteroid that is currently heading towards earth.
Giant asteroid making close approach with earth
Initial analysis by experts suggests that this asteroid is more than 1.3 kilometers wide. According to the latest estimation, this space body will make its close approach with the earth on March 04, 2022.
During the time of its close approach, the space body will be approximately 49,11,298 kilometers away from us. The asteroid has been named 138971 (2001 CB21), and it is currently traveling at a mindblowing speed of 43,236 kilometers per hour.
After making its close approach on March 04, this rogue space body will once again reach the earth's vicinity in March 2043.
Iain McDonald's prediction about aliens
A few months back, Iain McDonald, a scientist at Cardiff University's school of earth and ocean sciences had revealed that earth will be inevitably hit by a gigantic space rock one day or the other. The scientist made these remarks while talking on the BBC's Today programme.
During his talk, McDonald claimed that devastating events including asteroid hits had happened throughout history, and such events will happen in the future too.
Popular American physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson had also suggested similar views, and he also predicted that the extinction of humanity from planet earth will happen most probably due to an asteroid hit.
