[meteorite-list] Asteroid 2013 TV135 'May Collide' With Earth in 2032

[Ron Baalke]

Asteroid 2013 TV135 is on our NEO Risk page here:

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risk/2013tv135.html

It's only a 1 on the Torina scale, and a -1.84 on the Palmero scale.  
Odds of Earth impact are 1 in 63,000 in 2032, and 1 in 4.2 million
in 2047.

Ron Baalke

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http://rt.com/news/dangerous-asteroid-collide-earth-313/

410-meter asteroid "may collide" with Earth in 2032
rt.com
October 17, 2013
 
A potentially catastrophic asteroid has been discovered by astronomers, 
who say there's a slim chance that the 410-meter-wide minor planet will 
crash into Earth in 2032, creating a blast 50 times greater than the biggest 
nuclear bomb.

The asteroid, described as 2013 TV135, was found in the Camelopardalis 
(Giraffe) constellation by the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in southern 
Ukraine, the Minor Planet Center of the International Astronomers Union 
said. 

"On the night of October 12, I was watching the Giraffe constellation, 
it was an in-depth monitoring as part of the comet search program," Gennady 
Borisov from the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory told Itar-Tass news 
agency. "This is when the asteroid was discovered. The first observations 
show that it moves quickly and is relatively close."

The discovery has been confirmed by astronomers in Italy, Spain, the UK 
and Russia. In Russia, it was seen with telescopes at the Master Observatory 
in the Siberian republic of Buryatia, the IAU Minor Planet Center said. 

The asteroid has been added to the List of the Potentially Hazardous Asteroids, 
which includes celestial bodies with orbits closer than 7.5 million kilometers 
from the Earth's orbit. 

However, the threat posed by 2013 TV135 is minor, as it only has a one 
in 63,000 chance of colliding with our planet, according to available 
estimates. 

Astronomers say the asteroid's orbit will be about 1.7 million kilometers 
away from the Earth's orbit on August 26, 2032. 

If the asteroid hits Earth, it would create an explosion equivalent to 
2,500 megatons of TNT, which is 50 times greater than the biggest nuclear 
bomb ever detonated. 

The man behind 2013 TV135 asteroid discovery, Gennady Borisov from the 
Crimean Astrophysical Observatory.

Scientists will be able to better evaluate the impact risk of 2013 TV135, 
and even determine its possible impact site on Earth by 2028, Timur Kryachko 
from the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory told the RIA Novosti news agency. 

The discovery was mentioned by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, 
who is pushing for the development of anti-asteroid defense systems. 

"Here's a super-task for our space industry," Rogozin said of the asteroid 
on his Twitter page. 

The 2013 TV135 has been given a 1 out of 10 rating on the Torino Scale, 
used to estimate asteroid impact hazards, which means it "poses no unusual 
level of danger" and "the chance of collision is extremely unlikely."

According to NASA's Near Earth Object Program, there is currently just 
one asteroid that has the same rating. It's called 2007 VK184. At 130 
meters wide, it has 1 in 1,820 chance of impacting Earth on June 3, 2048. 

The chances that any other near-Earth asteroid will crash into earth in 
the next 100 years is estimated at "effectively zero" by NASA.