What’s 2020 without an Armageddon style asteroid story? We’ve already seen massive wildland fires across the world, a category three hurricane off the SE Texas coastline, global pandemic, and now NASA scientists tell us about the 2018 VP1 asteroid coming towards Earth on the eve of the 2020 November elections.
No need to rush to those “doomsday” shelters. According to reports 2018, VP1 was first identified on Nov 3, 2018, explaining the steroids namesake.
However, scientists have not seen it since Nov 16, 2018, until recently.
Before you start packing your go-bags and finding secluded, underground shelter, there are a few things you should know about asteroid 2018 VP1.
According to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the asteroid has been classified as an NEA or Near-Earth Asteroid. Each object classified into the category is put into one of four groups. The 2018 VP1 has been put into the “Apollo” group, which means it has an orbit larger than Earth’s but also intersects with Earth’s orbit.
Data shows the asteroid is around 0.002 km in diameter, which is equivalent to about 6.6 feet.
As far as the lingering question of will it hit Earth, reports are leading scientists to believe, due to the Earth’s orbit and their short observation period(12-days), its lengthy absence from observation, it is difficult to predict anything with 100% certainty.
With all that being said, astronomists were able to give a calculated estimate on when and where 2018 VP1 will cross Earth’s orbit again and if it will impact the planet.
According to their calculations, the asteroid has a .41% chance of hitting Earth. That means there is a 1 in 240 chance that it will make an impact or a 99.95% chance that it will miss Earth.
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