Asteroid 2007 FT3 was first observed in 2007.
NASA has confirmed that the asteroid known as 2007 FT3 won't pose any threat to our planet on October 5th. This 300-meter rock, which was briefly observed in 2007 and then lost from our view, was once considered a potential risk with 89 possible impact dates, including one on Halloween.
However, the chances of a collision turned out to be extremely low, at just one in 11.5 million-still not as good as winning the lottery, but reassuring for us.
Although this asteroid, with a weight of 2.6 billion tons and the potential for regional damage, remains elusive in our cosmic observations, we can at least be relieved that Earth is currently not on its collision list.
NASA, the US space agency, is constantly watching the sky for things called near-earth objects (NEOs) that could be potential threats. These objects are regularly checked and recorded in NASA's public database, which anyone can look at.
With the increased attention on asteroid 2007 FT3 in the media, NASA has reaffirmed its stance and commitment to monitoring the situation.
A Nasa spokesperson told the Standard: "There are no known asteroid impact threats to Earth at any time in the next century. Nasa and its partners diligently watch the skies to find, track, and categorise asteroids and near-Earth objects (NEOs), including those that may come close to Earth."
"An important note here is that planetary scientists define asteroid approaches that come within 30 million miles of Earth's orbit as close approaches. The larger an asteroid is, the easier it is for our planetary defense experts to find, meaning that their orbits around the sun are usually very well-known and understood for years or even decades."