Scientists Identify the Atlantic Ocean as the Impact Site of 1950 DA asteroid

Recently, scientists identified a part of the Atlantic Ocean as the potential impact zone of 1950 DA asteroid. The American space agency NASA is currently monitoring the movements of the asteroid. Scientists predict that the impact will create large waves and will affect the entire world.

NASA’s Sentry is currently monitoring the 1950 DA asteroid. Sentry is an automated system that keeps track of all the objects that can potentially collide with the planet. According to NASA, the 1950 DA asteroid is the largest object in the Sentry’s list. 1950 DA has a diameter of around 1.3 kilometers, which is huge. The size of the asteroid can be a potential threat to human existence and can trigger a mass extinction.

More about the Impact

NASA’s Sentry predicts that the asteroid is going to hit the planet on the 16^th of March 2880. At the time of the collision, the asteroid will have a velocity of 17.8 kilometers per second, equivalent to 40,000 miles per hour.

In a study, Prof. Erik Asphaug and Steven Ward revealed that the Atlantic Ocean might be the impact point for 1950 DA asteroid. If the study turns true, it will result in massive tsunamis across the world.

The study suggests that the impact will create a cavity having a diameter of 19 km and a depth of 5 km. The kinetic energy of the asteroid will be the primary cause of such destruction. The impact will result in massive waves having a height of more than a hundred meters. The United States will be the worst affected state due to this tsunami. Within a couple of hours of impact, the East coast of the United States will be under 100 m waves. Other regions like Europe and Africa will receive such a tsunami withing 20 hours of impact.