Photo: MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Science Photo Library / Getty Images
NASA is warning that a "lost asteroid" could be on a collision course with Earth next year. The asteroid 2007 FT3 was first discovered by astronomers in 2007. However, it quickly disappeared from their view less than two days later.
The asteroid has a diameter of .21 miles and weighs approximately 54 million tons.
According to NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies, 2007 FT3 has a 1 in 11.5 million chance of striking Earth on October 5, 2024. If it does hit Earth, it will unleash a force equal to 2.6 billion tons of TNT. While that is enough to cause widespread regional devastation, it is not enough to destroy the planet.
The asteroid will make another pass in 2030 when it has a 1 in 10 million chance of colliding with Earth.
CNEOS is currently tracking the orbits of more than 32,000 near-Earth asteroids and more than 120 comets that could impact the Earth at some point in the future.