Life on Earth could end on March 16, 2880, says study

New Delhi: Life on Earth may end on March 16, 2880, if a new study based on Nasa predictions is taken seriously. According to this new study, an asteroid may slam into Earth on that date, putting a full stop to human endeavour.Scientists at Nasa have been watching an asteroid, named 1950 DA, which is currently on a path to collide with Earth on March 16 2880. The asteroid is a rock two-thirds of a mile in diameter, travelling at about 15km per second relative to the Earth. It is due to swing so close to Earth it could slam into the Atlantic Ocean at 38,000 miles per hour. First discovered in February 1950, 1950 DA is a 1.1-kilometer-wide asteroid that was observed for 17 days and then disappeared from view. Then it was spotted again on Dec. 31, 2000 — literally on the eve of the 21st century. Coupled with radar observations made a few weeks later in March 2001 it was found that, along with a rather high rotation rate (2.1 hours), asteroid 1950 DA has a trajectory that will bring it very close to Earth on March 16, 2880. It is estimated that if 1950 DA were to collide with the planet, it would do so with an force of around 44,800 megatonnes of TNT. Although the probability of an impact is only 0.3 per cent, this represents a risk 50 per cent greater than an impact from all other asteroids. Over the long timescales of Earth's history, asteroids this size and larger have periodically hammered the planet. But scientists claim there is no cause for concern. If it is eventually decided 1950 DA needs to be diverted, the hundreds of years of warning could allow a method as simple as dusting the surface of the asteroid with chalk or charcoal, or perhaps white glass beads. This would change the asteroids reflectivity and allow sunlight to do the work of pushing the asteroid out of the way. Planetary scientists, meanwhile, are getting a better handle on the risks of asteroid impacts. There are currently 1,400 potentially hazardous asteroids that could pass close to Earth. These asteroids are considered hazardous because they are fairly large - at least 460 feet or 140 meters in size- and will pass within 7.5 million kilometres. Doomsday predictions have come and gone numerous times, but this particular forecast for the end of the world has been weighing on the mind of astronomers for over half a century.