Is the World Going to End TOMORROW? Asteroid 2013 TX68 Flyby Coincides With Two ‘Biblical’ Omens
Internet doom-mongers have claimed the flyby of asteroid 2013 TX68 could herald the end of the world, because its arrival coincides with two grim portents.
The world is currently holding its breath to see what happens when a space rock the size of a blue whale zooms by the planet tomorrow.
But on March 8, there will also be two other “signs in the skies”: a super moon and a solar eclipse.
Tomorrow the moon will appear much larger than usual as it reaches the closest point of its journey around Earth. The moon will also pass in front of the sun, blocking out its light.
Although NASA has repeatedly insisted the asteroid will speed by without hitting Earth, conspiracy theorists and evangelical Christians are convinced the strange coincidence means the world is about to end.
Internet pastor Anita Fuentes and her husband Ignacio Fuentes (pictured below) suggested the “biblical” omens could be a very bad sign for the future of humanity.
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In a bizarrely cheery Youtube video , Anita said the day of the apocalypse coincided with her birthday.
“We could be in the middle of singing happy birthday and see some extraordinary things happening in the sun, moon and stars,” she said.
“[The asteroid] could whizz by and blow out my candles for me.”
The video then cuts to the following image:
“The end times are here,” her husband added.
“It could be the last hour, the last second.
“We have to pay attention to all this that we’re seeing.”
A Brummie YouTuber using the pseudonym Clinton Robinson labelled March 8 a “date with fate”, although he had a little bit of good news.
Just in case you don’t believe NASA and its army of highly skilled astronomers, Mr Robinson offered his own happy prediction:
“I don’t believe [the asteroid] is going to hit us,” he said.
“But they are not telling us everything.”
Last week, NASA dramatically revised its calculations and revealed it was wrong about the date on which 2013 TX68 would speed past Earth.
Previously, the space agency said the space rock would speed by our planet on Saturday March 5.
But it has now said that the asteroid will buzz past the Earth on March 8 instead.
“We already knew this asteroid, 2013 TX68, would safely fly past Earth in early March, but this additional data allow us to get a better handle on its orbital path,” said Paul Chodas, manager of NASA’s Centre for Near-Earth Object Studies.
“The data indicate that this small asteroid will probably pass much farther away from Earth than previously thought.”
The asteroid is hidden by the sun’s glare , which makes it very difficult to track accurately.
Calculations show that 2013 TX68 could shoot past the Earth well within the ring of geostationary communications and GPS satellites stationed 22,300 miles above sea level.
At the other limit of its predicted range it could remain as far out as 40 times the distance to the moon.
US astronomer Sean Marshall, from Cornell University in New York, who studies NEOs such as comets and asteroids, said: “Should this asteroid come closer than the geostationary satellites, it would be a rare occurrence – that only happens about once per decade for large asteroids.
“What we know for sure is that it will not collide with Earth this month, so do not panic.”
A total solar eclipse is expected to take place between Tuesday 8 March and Wednesday 9 March 2016, although it will only be visible over the Pacific Ocean.
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, blocking out the sun’s fiery face.
This event will be known as a supermoon eclipse, because it will occur when the moon reaches it closest point to the Earth and will look much larger than usual.
