"Earth is Awaiting a Big Danger," Warns SpaceX CEO Elon Musk!

“A big rock will hit Earth eventually and we currently have no defence,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said.

Replying to Joe Rogan’s post on Twitter which says National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has began preparations for the arrival of asteroid 99942 Apophis – usually dubbed as ‘God of chaos’ asteroid – around 2029, Musk said his worry isn’t about Apophis but of a big rock that will hit Earth eventually.

According to NASA’s predictions, Apophis will come as close as 31,000 kilometres to Earth on April 13, 2029 and when it does, a light speck will appear in the sky which will gradually grow bright. It is travelling at a speed of 25,000 mph and is expected to make a harmless pass, however, an unfortunate collision might result in severe devastation to life on Earth. Some researchers conclude that on a scale of 100,000 the possibility of Apophis having an impact on the Earth is just 1. NASA has categorised it under PHA – Potentially Hazardous Asteroid.

NASA is hoping to make the best out of the opportunity in terms of research. “The Apophis close approach in 2029 will be an incredible opportunity for science. We’ll observe the asteroid with both optical and radar telescopes. With radar observations, we might be able to see surface details that are only a few meters in size,” Maria Brozovic, a radar scientist at NASA, was quoted as saying by NDTV.