NASA: Asteroid Won’t Hit Earth; Russians Were Wrong

Russians have got that one completely wrong and, according to NASA, we can all, it seems, let out a collective sight of relieve.

Russian media reports warned that an asteroid was on a collision course with Earth, but scientists at NASA announced today that impact is unlikely, either on Friday or in 2106.

The asteroid – about half the size of a football field – will fly past Earth this Friday at an altitude of 17,100 miles. According to NASA scientists, we should rest assured that collision is very improbably.

This pronouncement contradicts the Voice of Russia report released Wednesday. Citing two Russian astronomers, Voice of Russia had warned that two asteroids threatened collision with Earth: 2012 DA14, on coming Friday and 2012 YQ1 (asteroids are named after the year of their discovery and in alphabetical combinations that reflect the order in which they were spotted), almost a century from now, in 2106. 2012 YQ1 is about three-quarters of the size of a football field.

Fear no more, says MIT asteroid expert Richard Binzel. "Looks like a rogue report," he says, pointing to the space agency risk table for asteroids, which doesn't list 2012 YQ1 as a concern.

The asteroid is being tracked by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and, so far, its orbit doesn't seem to intersect with Earth for the foreseeable future.