Several blogs and web posts have caused a stir with claims that a giant asteroid is on the course to crashing with Earth and the hit could bring massive destruction to the planet.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), however, denied the claims saying that these are just rumors. In a statement, the U.S. space agency said that there's no evidence that a celestial object is on the course to hitting earth.
The rumor claims that a large asteroid will crash on Earth between Sept. 18 and 25 later this year and that the brunt of the impact will be faced by the coastal regions of Mexico, Central and South America, and the U.S.
NASA's Near-Earth Object Observations Program, which keeps watch for Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs), predict the trajectory of PHAs and sound the alarm, said that no asteroid has so far been detected that could pose threats to earth in the future.
Astronomers behind the program and those from other institutions from around the world use a range of different telescopes to look for potentially hazardous asteroids and comets and have not found anything that poses potentially serious threats.
Scientists based at the Near-Earth Object office said that PHAs currently have less than 0.01 percent odds of colliding with our planet in the next 100 years.
"There is no scientific basis -- not one shred of evidence -- that an asteroid or any other celestial object will impact Earth on those dates", said Paul Chodas, from NASA's Near-Earth Object office.
It is not the first time that NASA has to deal with doomsday asteroid rumors. Four years ago, it was rumored that Comet Elenin would impact Earth. An internet hype also claimed that the end of the Mayan calendar would coincide with an asteroid impact that would occur on December 21, 2012.
Asteroids 2004 BL86 and 2014 YB35 were likewise speculated to be on dangerous trajectories near our planet but they safely flew by Earth earlier this year.
The new rumor of an asteroid hitting Earth appears to be spread by a preacher called Reverend Efrain Rodriguez, who has been talking about this asteroid prophecy for five years now.
"God showed me a large rock, an Asteroid, entering the airspace of the town of Arecibo in Puerto Rico, and exiting Mayagüez, heading to the ocean," Rodriguez claims. "For many, there will be no time to escape the impact."
Photo: Munashe Gumbonzvanda | Flickr
