Not precisely FAKE NEWS, but definitely something to toss into the circular file.
The New York Post published this factual headline with the graphic and a lede saying, “This year could end with a bang. Scientists recently spotted an asteroid on a direct collision course to Earth — projected to hit a day before the presidential elections in November.”
Kinda suggests it’s an “OMG WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE” crisis coming, right?!
Except, I couldn’t find anything at all about this asteroid at NASA’s asteroid watch site.
Fortunately, the Fox News version wasn’t so hysteria-making.
AND it included a link, which helped my research immense
What the NY Post did NOT say is that this asteroid (designated 2018VP1) is small by asteroid standards.
Yes, at 6.5 feet, it does resemble a small car.
An asteroid the size of an SUV whizzed past us just last week … and nobody cared.
“At roughly 10 to 20 feet across, asteroid 2020QG is very small by asteroid standards.”
The NY Post article also does not say that 2018VP1 has a 99.59% chance of missing Earth.
And even if it does hit us, it is so small, it will just burn up in the atmosphere.
NASA wasn’t at all concerned about 2020QG, the bigger one that made a very close pass last week.
“If it had actually been on an impact trajectory, it would likely have become a fireball as it broke up in Earth’s atmosphere, which happens several times a year.“
- https://nypost.com/2020/08/22/asteroid-heading-our-way-day-before-presidential-election/
- https://www.foxnews.com/science/asteroid-fly-past-earth-election-day-nasa-says
- https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/sentry/details.html#?des=2018%20VP1
- https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2018%20VP1
- https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7728
polination.blog 
…99.59% chance of missing Earth. And even if it does hit us, it is so small, it will just burn up in the atmosphere….
I’m no astrophysicist (although I can spell it), but even an automobile-size rock, if it hits juuuuust right, could do a lot of damage, even if it doesn’t hit the earth. In that explosion over Russia in 2013, the asteroid hit at just the correct angle and velocity to explode so brilliantly and forcefully. Of course, that one was also 66′ long.
But, yeah, click bait.
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