2016 WF9 Asteroid Collision: Separating The Myths From The Facts

Ever since NASA scientists informed that they have spotted the 2016 WF9 asteroid, conspiracy theorists started making doomsday predictions. One is that Earth will collide with the 2016 WF9 asteroid and will bring about the destruction of the planet and the human race. According to the prediction, the collision was supposed to happen on Feb. 16 and Feb. 17, 2017.

The fact that today already Feb. 18 and people across the world are still alive is the proof that the rumors of 2016 WF9 asteroid collision was nothing but a worldwide hoax.

Even before, NASA also tried to burst the hoax by issuing an official statement. Even though 2016 WF9 will pass by Earth, it will not be close enough to bring about a collision. "The trajectory of 2016 WF9 is well understood, and the object is not a threat to Earth for the foreseeable future," NASA officials said.

According to AL.com, 2016 WF9 asteroid will come closest to Earth on Feb. 25. However, it will still be substantial 32 million miles away from the surface of the Earth, so there is nothing to worry about.

The 2016 WF9 asteroid collision speculation was preceded by the 2017 BS32 asteroid collision rumor. A couple of days ago, the 2017 BS32 asteroid missed Earth by just 161,280 km. This indicates that there is high probability that one or some other asteroid will eventually collide with Earth, but in a very distant future. It is highly likely that most of us would not be there to witness that day, The Sun reported.

However, as a precautionary measure, NASA called an emergency summit to discuss the potential threats of a possible asteroid collision and what people on Earth could do to prevent it. Lord Martin Rees, British astrophysicist, recommended that considering Earth's vulnerability to asteroid collisions, just like the near miss of 2017 BS32 and 2016 WF9 asteroids, space agencies should start working on the proposed asteroid defense program.