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German Schoolboy Who Corrected NASA Is Wrong, Says NASA, ESA

by Will Safer on April 16, 2008 at 11:48 AM

german schoolboy asteroid

A possible 'Armageddon'-like disaster has been predicted and averted, all within a few hours today, as NASA scientists confirmed their original estimate of a possible asteroid collision with Earth to be slight, even though a 13-year-old German schoolboy found himself fêted across the Internet for "correcting" the estimate. Using open source software he downloaded, the boy stated a high probability of impact for the asteroid.

NASA's numbers spell out a 1 in 45,000 chance of the asteroid Apophis hitting Earth in 2036. The schoolboy, from Potsdam, Germany, tried to factor in the odds of the asteroid actually hitting a man-made satellite during its first close pass to our planet in 2029, which he said could alter the trajectory and put it on course with Earth during its return trip, with a 1 in 450 chance of hitting our friendly planet.

The story made the rounds today across the Internet, even getting picked up by various international press outlets. Now, it seems, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are refuting the boy's prediction, saying the odds of the asteroid hitting a satellite were not properly calculated.

Phew. That was a close one. [Sources: The Register and IT Week.]

Tags: expire-images2009-4-16, nasa, space

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