NASA Says Mountain-Sized Asteroid 2014 UR116 No Threat to Earth, Will Not Wipe-out Humanity – Report

Newly-discovered asteroid 2014 UR116 is not an Earth killer as the U.S. space agency NASA maintains that the mountain-sized space object is hardly a threat to humanity.

And that would be the case in the next century or beyond, according to Elizabeth Howell of the Universe Today. "Data from the Minor Planet Centre shows that the quarter-mile-wide asteroid 2014 UR116 won't pose a threat to Earth or any other planet in the next 150 years or more," Howell reported.

Possible collision with Earth

A team headed by Russian astrophysicist Vladimir Lipunov of the Moscow State University discovered 2014 UR116 October this year and estimated that it measured 370 metres in diameter. Calculations provided by Lipunov indicated too that the space object will fly dangerously near Earth every three years.

According to The Christian Science Monitor, Lipunov is convinced that 2014 UR116 is theoretically a threat to mankind mainly due its unpredictability, which explains why the rock was only recently detected.

In a video documentary posted on the Russian Space Agency website earlier this week, the Russian scientist insisted that 2014 UR116 could impact Mars, Venus and even Earth as the asteroid's trajectory can easily be influenced by the gravitational pull of these planets.

"We should track it constantly. Because if we have a single mistake, there will be a catastrophe. The consequences can be very serious," Lipunov was quoted by Russian news site RT.com as saying in the documentary.

The Russian expert pointed to what happened in Chelyabinsk, Russia last year that saw destruction and injuries when a meteor entered Earth undetected and hit the city.

That same meteor was described as bus-sized and it already caused considerable damages. With the 2014 UR116, the projected impact and explosion is 1000 times greater, Lipunov warned.

Hardly an Earth killer

NASA, however, is not buying into the arguments presented by Lipunov while conceding that "this approximately 400-meter sized asteroid has a three-year orbital period around the sun and returns to the Earth's neighbourhood periodically."

"(2014 UR116) does not represent a threat because its orbital path does not pass sufficiently close to the Earth's orbit," the NASA statement was reported by Howell as saying.

NASA further advised that before jumping into conclusion, any reports of the dangers posed by any asteroids, the 2014 UR116 including, and comets "should be verified by scientists and the media by accessing NASA's Near Earth Object (NEO) program web site."

According to RT.com, 2014 UR116 dwarfs over the more popular Apophis asteroid that could be in a collision course with Earth in the coming decade.