WORLD TO END IN 2040 NASA finds asteroid set to smash into Earth
WORRIED boffins at NASA are hatching an Armageddon-style plot to blow up a huge asteroid spotted hurtling towards Earth.
Scientists have identified a rock 460ft wide and dubbed it ‘2011 AG5’. It could smash into our planet in just 30 years’ time.
If the lump strikes a city it would leave millions dead, ending the world as we know it. And the pesky rock is expected on Feb 5, 2040.
Experts are debating whether to fire a missile – or even a NUKE – into its path to try to alter its deadly trajectory – just like the storyline of Bruce Willis’ 1998 action flick.
One source at the space agency said: “It sounds like science fiction, but it could very soon become science fact.
“If this asteroid is on a collision course with Earth, scientists will do everything in their power to repel it.”
NASA’S preferred way to steer the asteroid away from mankind is to fire a probe into it, and to use the extra gravity the craft generates to steer the rock away over millions of light years.
Nuclear weapons have also been discussed. While this would create a shower of rocks, instead of just one, it’s hoped the small chunks would break up as they entered Earth’s atmosphere.
The chances of the asteroid hitting Earth are, in space terms, tiny, say scientists.