Asteroid 2011 AG5 has a one in 625 chance of hitting the earth in 2040 with the force of 100 megatons of TNT

The Asteroid 2011 AG5 is a 460 feet (140 meter) wide space rock. It may pose a hazard in 2040. Researchers are calling for deflection plan discussions.

The forty-ninth session of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space was held from 6-17 February 2012 at the United Nation Office at Vienna, Vienna International Center, Vienna, Austria.

The near-Earth asteroid 2011 AG5 currently has an impact probability of 1 in 625 for Feb. 5, 2040, said Donald Yeomans, head of the Near-Earth Object Observations Program at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

“Fortunately, this object will be observable from the ground in the 2013-2016 interval,” Yeomans said. In the very unlikely scenario that its impact probability does not significantly decrease after processing these additional observations, “there would be time to mount a deflection mission to alter its course before the 2023 keyhole,” he added.

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