10-04-2006, 04:51 PM
At least, that's what scientists think. In April of 2029, they thought, there was a good chance that an asteroid the size of the Rose Bowl would collide with Earth. In fact, the date was April 13, or Friday the 13th, of that year. However, they now know it's going to miss, but will go in between the Earth and Moon. Talk about "near miss." It will, according to Nova, be closer to Earth than many of our own manmade satellites are at that time.
However, in 2036, seven years later, the asteroid (named Apothus) will return. And scientists now know that if it goes through a particular stretch of space which they've named "the keyhole" on its first trip near earth in 2029, that in seven years it will return and strike the Earth. They even know where it would hit - the Pacific Ocean.
You can watch the segment from Nova here. (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3313/01.html)