Asteroid and 'end of the world' in 2027 – what a NASA document means

Social media is spreading claims of a 96% probability of an asteroid hitting Earth in 2027, citing a NASA document. In reality, the document describes a training scenario with a fictional object, 2017 PDC, created to model a potential threat. There is no real prediction of a collision in 2027.

Social media is once again spreading claims of an alleged 96% probability of an asteroid hitting Earth in 2027. The authors cite a NASA document, claiming the agency knows the date of a global catastrophe. The document does exist, but it describes a training scenario with a fictional object, 2017 PDC, created to practice response to a potential asteroid threat. The exercise scenario assumed a collision on April 29, 2027, with an impact zone from Hawaii to Africa. In the final stage, it modeled an impact on New York with an explosive yield of 5 to 20 megatons. Individual fragments of this document are being circulated without context. NASA and other astronomical organizations constantly monitor hazardous asteroids, but no collision with known large objects is predicted in the next 100 years.