What if an asteroid hit the Earth?

An asteroid striking our planet -- it's the stuff of science fiction. Many movies and books have portrayed this possibility ("Deep Impact," "Armageddon," "Lucifer's Hammer," and so on).

An asteroid impact is also the stuff of science fact. There are obvious craters on Earth (and the moon) that show us a long history of large objects hitting the planet. The most famous asteroid ever is the one that hit Earth 65 million years ago. It's thought that this asteroid threw so much moisture and dust in to the atmosphere that it cut off sunlight, lowering temperatures worldwide and causing the extinction of the dinosaurs.

So, what if an asteroid were to hit Earth today?

MORE: http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/asteroid-hits-earth.htm

Giant asteroid could hit Earth in 2014

Tuesday, September 2, 2003 Posted: 11:38 AM EDT (1538 GMT)

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- A giant asteroid is heading for Earth and could hit in 2014, U.S. astronomers have warned British space monitors.

But for those fearing Armageddon, don't be alarmed -- the chances of a catastrophic collision are just one in 909,000.

Asteroid "2003 QQ47" will be closely monitored over the next two months. Its potential strike date is March 21, 2014, but astronomers say that any risk of impact is likely to decrease as further data is gathered.

On impact, it could have the effect of 20 million Hiroshima atomic bombs, a spokesman for the British government's Near Earth Object Information Centre told BBC radio.

MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/09/02/asteroid.reut/index.html

Apophis: The Asteroid That Could Smash Into the Earth on April 13th, 2036

Apophis is an asteroid with an slightly offset orbit to that of Earth's. Discovered in June 2004, astronomers have determined that it will make a very close flyby on Friday, April 13th, 2029, where it will pass to within 5 Earth diameters of us. The exact path the asteroid follows on its flyby in 2029 will determine whether it smashes into the Earth seven years later.

In 2004, it was first thought that the asteroid would hit us in the first flyby in 2029. The initial calculation for the orbit was made using only two sets of observations, those made in June and a subsequent set made in December.

From those observations, astronomers calculated a 1-in-200 chance that the asteroid would hit the Earth. If this was true, then this asteroid had become the most dangerous asteroid ever found. After taking more observations , the chances climbed even higher and by the end of December 2004, the chances of the Earth being struck by this asteroid climbed as high as 1-in-37.

MORE: http://www.deepastronomy.com/apophis-asteroid-could-hit-earth.html

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