Asteroid Heads Towards Earth With One In 625 Chance Of Hitting Planet

By Rosa Prince
The Telegraph
February 28, 2012

The 460 foot ball of rock named 2011 AG5 is potentially on course to hit this planet on February 5, 2040.

The United Nations Action Team on near-Earth object has begun discussions about how to divert the asteroid, amid fears that the likelihood of a collision could increase over the next few years.

While the object has the potential to wipe out millions of lives if it landed on a city, it is far smaller than the nine mile wide asteroid which is believed to have led to the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

Scientists have only been able to observe half of 2011 AG5′s orbit, and are hoping to obtain more information about the asteroid’s course between 2013 and 2016, when it will be possible to monitor it from the ground.

Continues:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/9111608/Asteroid-heads-towards-Earth-with-one-in-625-chance-of-hitting-planet.html