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by Doug Thews.
Original Post: 2004MN4 Asteroid Impact Odds Upped
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NASA & the Near Earth Orbit Object Program website just updated the odds on 12/25 of the asteroid 2004 MN4 hitting Earth. They started odds at 1-in-233, then down to 1-in-63, and now at 1-in-45 (as more observations were made). So, while the percentage sounds pretty low (97.8%), that's still 1 chance in 45 of a pretty big asteroid (400 meters wide) hitting the Earth on April 13th 2029 (and YES, this IS a Friday the 13th!).
NEO also upgraded the risk assessment (on the Torino scale from a 2 to a 4 (warranting close examination).
Let's just hope we can start using some of our vast technology resources in figuring out how to avoid nearth Earth orbit collisions - regardless of whether this turns out to be something or not.
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