*Famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has warned that a space rock, known as Asteroid 2018VP1, is set to reach Earth a day before the presidential election on Nov. 3rd.
Tyson made the announcement on Twitter, noting that the rock is approaching Earth at more than 25,000 mph.
The asteroid is reportedly the size of a refrigerator but Tyson makes clear that even if it enters Earth’s atmosphere, there is no cause for worry.
“It may buzz-cut Earth on Nov 2, the day before the Presidential Election,” Tyson wrote on Twitter. “It’s not big enough to cause harm. So if the World ends in 2020, it won’t be the fault of the Universe.”
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Asteroid 2018VP1, a refrigerator-sized space-rock, is hurtling towards us at more than 40,000 km/hr.
It may buzz-cut Earth on Nov 2, the day before the Presidential Election.
It’s not big enough to cause harm. So if the World ends in 2020, it won’t be the fault of the Universe. pic.twitter.com/eiy9G9w4Ez
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) October 18, 2020
NASA also confirmed news of the asteroid reaching Earth on Nov. 2.
“Asteroid 2018VP1 is very small, approx. 6.5 feet, and poses no threat to Earth,” NASA wrote on Twitter. “It currently has a 0.41% chance of entering our planet’s atmosphere, but if it did, it would disintegrate due to its extremely small size.”
Asteroid 2018VP1 is very small, approx. 6.5 feet, and poses no threat to Earth! It currently has a 0.41% chance of entering our planet’s atmosphere, but if it did, it would disintegrate due to its extremely small size.
— NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) August 23, 2020
“Close approaches by small objects of this size are not rare, and even if something of this size were to impact, the object would not likely survive the Earth’s atmosphere,” Donald Yeomans, a senior researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, told The New York Times in August.
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