But I feel fine!

Scientists say that there is still a chance of a close encounter of the devastating kind with an asteroid in 2036.

When it comes to 22-million-ton asteroids, the small stuff, it turns out, can make a huge difference in a potentially disastrous path toward Earth.

Using limited observations and lots of high-end computer modeling, astronomers have gotten a better handle on the limitations of asteroid-track forecasting in a new study of a potentially threatening asteroid called 99942 Apophis.

In this high-stakes game of Whack-a-Cosmic-Mole, just knowing exactly what it is you don't know can be useful.

Apophis' chance of hitting our planet in its first pass in 2029 is now slim to none, but astronomers will have to wait four to six years before they can predict what it might do during a second pass in 2036.

A team of scientists arrived at the conclusion after accounting for small influences like the solar wind, gravitational drag of smaller asteroids and human error.

In other words, we really can't be sure if the big space rock is going to result in the end of the world as we know it -- or whether we can divert Apophis away from earth. At this point, the variables are just too great.

Still, it does raise the point that mankind and the planet are more likely to face a calamity not of our making than to suffer extinction due to man-made global warming as proposed by the Branch AlGorians.

Posted by: Greg at 10:30 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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