Scientists 'disturbed' by three-headed asteroid that would trigger the end of Earth if it hit us
Investigations into 44 Nysa, an asteroid first spotted all the way back in 1857, have caused scientists to discover that across its 47-mile-wide rock face is three heads, and even features its own moon, making it potentially dangerous if it found its way towards our planet.
Researchers do remain confident that there's absolutely nothing to worry about when it comes to the chances of this asteroid striking Earth, but if its course were to somehow change dramatically then it would have the potential to end us all.
One more recent close call with 2024 YR4 has left many primed for a potential impact, but even though some famous physicists pushed for space agencies like NASA to develop tools to divert the course of an incoming asteroid, there's likely nothing that could be done to stop this particularly massive piece of rock from doing serious damage.
Scientists are 'disturbed' by the discovery
As reported by the Metro, while people have known about 44 Nysa for nearly 170 years now, it was the lack of information surrounding its stature that has left scientists equally disturbed and rejuvenated.
"A colleague of mine recently told me she was 'disturbed' to know that this thing was out there and we didn't know about it," explained Kate Minker, the lead author of a new study published about 44 Nysa in arXiv, when speaking to Metro.
Advert
"I think it's a really great example of how much we don't know what we don't know," she added. "It's definitely possible there are more out there."
Considering the asteroid, which exists in the space between Mars and Jupiter, is within our own solar system, there's no knowing how many other fascinating discoveries can be made by simply looking closer at what we are already aware of.
Scientists in Arizona and Chile were able to make this observations using the Large Binocular Telescope in the former and the Very Large Telescope in the latter, which itself sits on top of a flat mountain for increased potency.
What would happen if 44 Nysa hit Earth?
There is, in the current situation, zero chance that 44 Nysa will come even close to hitting our planet, yet it's certainly an intriguing prospect to consider the consequences if something were to change in the future.
Minker asserted that Earth would be 'toast' if the asteroid were to strike, illustrating:
"For context, the Chicxulub impactor, famous for sparking the mass extinction of the dinosaurs, was about 10km in diameter — meaning that Nysa is about seven times as wide, and therefore about 400 times the volume of that object and likely a higher density," she explained.
"This would cause a significantly more energetic impact [...] the aftermath would definitely be on a global scale," Minker added.
Even loose chunks of the asteroid stretching just two meters in diameter could cause catastrophe and devastation on our planet, showing quite how impactful the entire three-headed beast would be if it struck in one single piece.