Asteroid in 2040 won’t hit earth, NASA says
Asteroid YU55, taking at run at Earth.
The asteroid 2011 AG5 will safely pass earth in 2040, a new study shows. Woohoo!
Scientists originally predicted that it would hit Earth. In February, astronomers said that the 460-foot asteroid had a 1 in 165 chance of colliding with us.
Researchers later said that the asteroid had a 1 in 500 chance of hitting earth, but even more research proved that the asteroid's journey would be harmless, UPI reported. A new NASA prediction based on observations done using the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii shows that the asteroid won't get any closer than 550,000 miles to our planet.
More from GlobalPost: Asteroid to Earth: I'll be back
"These were extremely difficult observations of a very faint object," Richard Wainscoat, a member of the team of researchers that monitored 2011 AG5, told CBS News. "We were surprised by how easily the Gemini telescope was able to recover such a faint asteroid so low in the sky."
The findings add more support to a NASA study published in June, which also found that the asteroid would safely pass Earth.
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