For the last few weeks, we’ve been worrying about the silent killer known as the Coronavirus. So far, the virus has infected close to 94,000 with more than 3,000 dead, including 9 in the United States. But even if we do outlast this outbreak (all the Purell in the world won’t prevent you from getting it), another danger is lurking.
A few weeks ago, we told you about a giant asteroid hurtling toward Earth. Measuring up to 2.5 miles wide, the asteroid will be making an uncomfortably close call with our planet next month. Echoing shades of Armageddon, the massive space rock is traveling at 19,461 mph based on NASA’s automated tracking systems at the Center for Near Earth Object Studies in California.
At this rate, the asteroid should float by Earth on April 29th. But just in case it decides to change trajectories, we hope Bruce Willis and his team of deep core oil drillers are on call. Although, it’d be ironic if a threat to our planet was looming and we were sending up a team of people whose job is to dig deep inside the Earth to remove a natural resource. You might even call that poetic justice.
NASA has been tracking the asteroid since 1987 (wow) and although astronomers have called it a “potentially hazardous” object, the rock will miss us by 3.9 million miles. Or 16.36 times the distance from Earth to the Moon.
Like I said, whenever we get one of these stories, I always think of Armageddon. It’s nothing more than a loud, dumb and loads of fun summer blockbuster. But the thought of such an event becoming a reality is still scary to think about. Then again, we have enough to worry about right now with Coronavirus.
Come to think of it though, we also have the newly formed Space Force. I’m not sure what they do exactly, but this seems like the sort of thing they should be dealing with. No offense to team Armageddon.