Rock The Vote, Literally! Neil deGrasse Tyson Says Asteroid Could Hit November 2nd

Earth, prepare for impact! In a year full of surprises, celebrity scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson is adding another twist, and this one could really make an impact, literally. The famed astrophysicist says an asteroid the size of a refrigerator could strike Earth on Nov 2, the day before the election. 

The asteroid, known as 2018VP1, is rocketing towards earth at a speed of 25,000 miles per hour and there is a chance it could clip our planet on election day eve. Tyson took to Instagram to deliver the news, but also said the asteroid is probably not worth worrying about.

“2018VP1, a refrigerator-sized space-rock, is hurtling towards us at more than 25,000 mi/hr. It may buzz-cut Earth on Nov. 2, the day before the presidential election. But it’s not big enough to cause harm. So if the world ends in 2020, it won’t be the fault of the universe,” Tyson said in the Instagram post.

NASA had previously identified the asteroid as having a 1% chance of actually striking earth. “It currently has a 0.41% chance of entering our planet’s atmosphere, but if it did, it would disintegrate due to its extremely small size,” the space agency said in a tweet back in August.

Let’s hope NASA is correct. But in case you want to keep an eye out for any updates, the Twitter account is @AsteroidWatch. For now though, it looks like you’ll still be able to “Space Rock” the vote on Nov. 3.