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'City-killer' asteroid heading towards Earth at 'impossible' rate may wipe out planet

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ANI London
Last Updated : Aug 16 2014 | 11:15 AM IST

Asteroid 1950 DA is heading towards Earth at a very fast rate and the collision might end the life on the planet, it has been reported.

Asteroid which has 1,000 metres in diameter could 'smash' into the planet at nearly 40,000 miles per hour, which could cause an explosion of unprecedented proportions, triggering huge tsunamis capable of covering entire cities, the Daily Star reported.

NASA classes any asteroid with a diameter of over 50 metres as a potential "city-killer". The rock has been hurtling through space so fast that it has experienced "negative gravity".

Alarmingly the rock has a 300/1 chance of striking Earth with the current predicted impact placed at March 16, 2880. Around 66m years ago a giant asteroid crashed down in Mexico, wiping out the last of the dinosaurs as well as most of the planet's plant life.

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First Published: Aug 16 2014 | 11:06 AM IST

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