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| - Fact Check: World is not going to end on April 29
Amid coronavirus scare, which has left more than 4,000 people dead, netizens are now hit by the fear of a celestial object.
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India Today Fact Check
The world will not end as this asteroid will fly past Earth at an approximate distance of 3.9 million miles.
Amid coronavirus scare, which has left more than 4,000 people dead, netizens are now hit by the fear of a celestial object.
Many on Facebook said that on April 29, the world is going to end as an asteroid as big as the Himalayas is going to hit the planet.
Facebook users like Mularam Bhakar Jaat Osian and Adbhut Anokha Aparajit posted a video clip with a logo of Headlines India about an asteroid approaching the Earth. The caption in Hindi reads that the world will come to an end on April 29.
The archived version of these posts can be seen here and here.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) found this to be a misleading claim. As per NASA, an asteroid, officially called 52768 (1998 OR2), is expected to fly past Earth on April 29, 2020, at a distance of approximately 4 million miles.
This viral claim with the same video has been posted by many Facebook users, which has created panic.
After searching, we found that this news first appeared on Daily Express with the headline Asteroid warning: NASA tracks a 4KM asteroid approach - Could end civilisation if it hits. People on social media started believing that this asteroid will end civilisation. This piece of news has created quite a sensation and confusion among the readers.
However, NASA is constantly monitoring the trajectory speed, and distance of this particular asteroid 52768 (1998 OR2) along with others. NASA discovered this asteroid in 1998, and since then it is observing its every movement. Every data about this asteroid is available publicly on the website of the Centre for Near Earth Object Studies ( CNEOS).
The twitter account of CNEOS has tweeted that On April 29, asteroid 1998 OR2 will safely pass Earth by 3.9 million miles/6.2 million km. A @Daily_Express article implying there is a "warning" about this asteroid is false.
On April 29. asteroid 1998 OR2 will safely pass Earth by 3.9 million miles/6.2 million km. A @Daily_Express article implying there is a "warning" about this asteroid is false. A complete listing of all asteroid passes is always public at https://t.co/i6i8HwCDJq. Carry on! Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) March 4, 2020
This asteroid 52768 (1998 OR2) is also not mentioned in the list of Sentry Impact Risk Page of NASA which monitors the potential future Earth impact events.
This asteroid, with an estimated diameter of 1.8 km to 4.1 km, will fly past Earth from an estimated distance of 3.9 million miles at an estimated speed of around 20000 miles per hour. It means it will come no closer than about 16 times the distance between the Earth and Moon.
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