Angry Birds drains your battery faster

Are You addicted to Games like Angry Bird? If Yes be cautious the Life of The battery of your cell will be decreasing. According to TG Daily  Free mobile apps using third party services to display ads are draining users' batteries, researchers from Purdue University and Microsoft say.

The team monitored the power use of Android and Windows Phone devices using a tool called Eprof, and found that up to 70 percent of the power used by free apps was caused by downloading advertisements and tracking users.

In the case of Angry Birds, just a fifth of the power use was caused by actually playing the game, with almost half accounted for by location services used to target advertisements.

In addition, the team found that the game left 3G connections open for up to ten seconds after downloading information, accounting for over a quarter of the app's total energy consumption.

But other apps were almost as bad, with the team finding energy wastage on all 21 apps examined, including browsers, newspaper apps and Twitter.

There is a solution, say the researchers.

"Most of the energy in smartphone apps is spent in I/O, and I/O events are clustered, often due to a few routines," they say in their report.

"This motivates us to propose bundles, a new accounting presentation of app I/O energy, which helps the developer to quickly understand and optimize the energy drain of her app. Using the bundle presentation, we reduced the energy consumption of four apps by 20 percent to 65 percent."

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Kashmir scientists clone Pashmina kid

Scientists in Kashmir have cloned the first Pashmina goat using advanced reproductive techniques, officials at the Shere- Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences &Technology (SKUAST) said on Thursday. 

The March 9 birth of female kid Noori could spark breeding programmes across the region and mass production of the highpriced wool, lead project scientist Dr Riaz Ahmad Shah said. Shah and six other scientists took two years to clone Noori, using the relatively new “ handmade” cloning technique involving only a microscope and a steady hand. “ We’ve standardised the procedure. 

  Now it will take us half a year to produce another,” said Dr Maajid Hassan, another veterinarian who worked on the project, which was partly funded by the World Bank. The team has already started work on more clones among the university’s herd of goats. “ This is the cheapest, easier and less time- consuming” method of cloning, compared with conventional methods that use high- tech machinery and sometimes chemicals, Shah said. 


 Pashmina, a kind of fine wool is obtained from the fleece of the goat Capra hircus . They are found in parts of the Himalayas, the Tibetan plateau and upper reaches of Ladakh. The wool is spun through a tedious manual process to produce the finest quality of Pashmina.

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New iPad will go on sale at exactly 8 AM Friday

Those who weren't quick enough to pre-order their new iPad online have one last resort. 


 That would be going to an Apple Store on the actual release date this Friday. And now, the company has confirmed exactly what time the device will go on sale at every location chainwide.The metaphorical vault will open at 8:00 AM local time. That means people in Eastern Australia technically get the first crack at it, as the time zones cascade and the units begin selling in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Europe, and the US. 

 The new iPad, which is officially just being referred to as the "iPad" even though many still call it the iPad 3, boasts an amazing new display along with 4G LTE connectivity. Beyond that, though, there isn't a whole lot of change from the iPad 2. Many are disappointed that this is merely an incremental upgrade, in much the same way that the iPhone 3GS was just a minor update to the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 4S didn't really differ much from the iPhone 4. 
 It is for that reason that Apple likely doesn't even want to call the new device the iPad 3. The company is under pressure to release product updates every year, when in reality it takes multiple years to actually advance the technology significantly. So, the new iPad will sell like gangbusters just because it's from Apple and it can be described as being "new." But expect the next iteration of the tablet to be the one that is actually new and interesting.

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Charge your mobile phone with your breath

You may have faced problem due to shut down of cell phone as battery was finished. If so there may be a solution as researchers have come up with a new device that could breathe new life into your mobile phone by using air from your lungs to charge it.

The kit, dubbed the AIRE mask, harnesses the wind power generated by breathing and converts it into electricity to run anything ranging from an iPod to a mobile.

The electronic mask consist tiny wind turbines and the energy created is transferred through a cable to the electronic device.

Inventor Joco Paulo Lammoglia, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, revealed that the device could be used in all situations from running to sleeping.

“I hope to bring the concept into production and reduce the carbon footprint,” the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.

“It can be used indoors or outdoors, while you’re sleeping, walking, running or even reading a book. Besides saving energy and helping environmental preservation, it also encourages physical exercise.

“Its energy is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Though many of our modern gadgets offer benefits, they tend to use a high amount of electrical energy. Harnessing energy from human activities and transforming it into electricity is possible and is a great solution,” Lammoglia added

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How to Create Windows 8 Bootable DVD or USB Drive Easily

This tutorial will help you on how to create Windows 8 bootable DVD or USB drive easily using official “Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool” from Microsoft.After Developer preview, Microsoft has stepped into the future of Windows 8 with the consumer preview. This version combines more features and improvements than the previous version of Windows 8. Well if you are willing to give a try to Windows 8 consumer preview then this tutorial is going to help you a lot.
To install Windows 8 consumer preview on your computer, first you will need to create a bootable DVD or USB drive and then install it on your PC. It is now easier to create bootable DVD or USB drive for Windows 8 because now you don’t need to search for any third party tools to create it as Microsoft has released its own tool at the Microsoft Store Online.
Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool is the ultimate tool by Microsoft which will help you create Windows 8 bootable DVD or USB drive easily and the video below will guide you with all the process.

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Scientists capture first image of two atoms vibrating INSIDE a molecule

A new photograph shows two atoms vibrating together inside a molecule - a first for science.

Researchers used a mind-boggling technique where they turned an electron into a 'flash bulb' to capture the image. 

The precise control required to set off the 'flash' has offered hope that scientists may one day be able to control chemicals at the atomic scale.

The team used ultrafast laser pulses to knock one electron out of its natural orbit in a molecule. 

When it returns to the molecule, the atoms have moved - allowing the scientists to capture the atoms in motion. 

Principal investigator Louis DiMauro of Ohio State Universitysaid that the feat marks a first step toward not only observing chemical reactions, but also controlling them on an atomic scale.

‘Through these experiments, we realized that we can control the trajectory of the electron when it comes back to the molecule, by adjusting the laser that launches it,’ said DiMauro, who is a professor of physics at Ohio State.

‘The next step will be to see if we can steer the electron in just the right way to actually control a chemical reaction.’

A standard technique for imaging a still object involves shooting the object with an electron beam – bombarding it with millions of electrons per second. The researchers' new single-electron quantum approach allowed them to image rapid molecular motion. 

‘You could use this to study individual atoms,’ DiMauro added, ‘but the greater impact to science will come when we can study reactions between more complex molecules. Looking at two atoms – that's a long way from studying a more interesting molecule like a protein.’

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Features in new Apple iPad3!!

With 4G LTE wireless, retina display, and a high-definition camera, Apple's third tablet is no doubt the best iPad yet, say those in the industry. who introduced the new iPad in San Francisco Wednesday, called it the "poster child of the post-PC world", the Christian Science Monitor reported.
 The new iPad has a breathtaking screen. Weighing in at 2048 by 1536 pixels, it boasts 3.1 million, one million more than a 1080p HDTV, which has only 1920 by 1080 pixels.

"The most ever in a mobile device," said Cook.
 Cook said the new iPad is designed to be held 15 inches from the face, as that makes the pixels indistinguishable to the human eye.

There's also 40 percent better color saturation than the iPad 2 in this upgrade.
 Of course, this is all possible thanks to Apple's new A5X quad-core processor, allowing for stunning graphics and higher performance overall.

The iPad's new back-facing camera is much approved from the iPad 2, with a 5-megapixel illuminated sensor. Included is a 5-element lens, allowing the camera to auto-focus, and an IR filter that helps with auto-exposure.

It's not as good as the iPhone 4S, which has an 8-megapixel camera, but now Apple can rival tablets like the Motorola Xoom that also have rear-facing 5-megapixel cameras. What puts the new iPad on top for some shoppers is its ability to film and edit in HD and its automatic stabilization.

 Apple has hopped on the 4G LTE bandwagon. Leapfrogging over the iPhone 4S, which runs on 3G, the new iPad can now wirelessly connect to the fastest cellular networks, the newspaper said.

Apple showed that buffering Vimeo videos takes much less time than it does on the iPad 2. In order to run 4G in the US, iPads will be divided between AT and T and Verizon. 3G will still be available, just in case.

Apple's new device can also be turned into a personal Wi-Fi hotspot if carriers support that option. And somehow, Apple says that battery life is about nine hours when 4G runs - the same for the iPad 2 on 3G, the newspaer added.

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Facebook launches Messenger for Windows

Here is something that can make you even more addicted to Facebook. The social networking giant, Facebook, has now officially launched Facebook  Messenger for Windows, which is a standalone app that lets you IM friends via Windows 7.

The newly introduced app lets you chat, receive notifications, and read your news feed from your desktop. In other words, the messenger lets you use Facebook without being on www.facebook.com. However, missing elements from the app are video chat (through Skype) and group chat, which are there inside its web interface.

Facebook has been testing this application since November, but an Israeli blog TechIT had leaked the download link in December, following which Facebook responded by making it publicly available. However, that was a test. It cannot be denied that Facebook is in the habit of testing its products on small percentage of its users before rolling it out, officially.

But now Facebook has officially announced to roll out this application. If you don't come across any "download" button yet, you need not worry as the app will be rolled out to users’ profiles over the next few weeks.

Facebook messenger

However, if you are eager and can not wait, you can download the application - Facebook Messenger for Windows 7 - from here If you use Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac or another operating system, you won't be able to install the app at this time, reported Facebok on its page, adding "we're working on making the app available for more operating systems."

According to Facebook, it is currently working on a version of this app for Windows Vista. The app does not do not currently support Windows XP.

Reportedly, a Mac version is on the way, but the company has not said anything as to when that version will be out.
Earlier, Facebook introduced the Android and iOS-based mobile Messenger app last August.

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Earliest human ancestor discovered in canada

British and canadian researchers have confirmed that a 505 million-year-old creature is the most primitive known vertebrate - and therefore the ancestor of us all. Found only in the Burgess Shale fossil beds in Canada’s Yoho National Park, Pikaia gracilens has been confirmed as the most primitive member of the chordate family - the group of animals that today includes fish, amphibians, birds, reptiles and mammals.

Averaging about five centimetres in length, it was a sideways-flattened creature something like an eel, that likely swam above the sea floor by moving its body in a series of side-to-side curves.

And through an analysis of 114 Pikaia fossils using techniques including scanning electron microscopy, fine details have been revealed that settle the question of whether it was a chordate or not.

Earliest human ancestor

Back when it was discovered, in 1911, it was classified as a possible annelid worm, a group that includes today’s leeches and earthworms. But there's long been speculation that it was in fact a chordate.

It appeared to have a very primitive notochord – the flexible rod found in the embryos of all chordates, and which goes on to make up part of the backbone in vertebrates. 

Key was the discovery of myomeres, a type of skeletal muscle tissue found only in chordates.

"The discovery of myomeres is the smoking gun that we have long been seeking," says Professor Simon Conway Morris of the University of Cambridge.

"Now, with  myomeres, a nerve chord, a notochord and a vascular system all identified, this study clearly places Pikaia as the planet’s most primitive chordate. So, next time we put the family photograph on the mantlepiece, there in the background will be Pikaia."

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Terrafugia preps flying car for New York auto show(Watch Video )

Flying cars have been the stuff of dreams for decades, and thus far, remains limited to the realm of science fiction.

Yes, many people have tried to make the dream of flying cars a reality for the masses, yet the only company that appears to have some form of limited success is Terrafugia with its Transition Roadable Aircraft.

This small car is designed with folding wings and can fit inside most normal garages for storage. The wings fold for normal driving, and when you feel like taking to the air, the flick of a switch unfolds the wings, and the car turns into an airplane.

The vehicle is set to make its auto show debut at the 2012 New York International Auto Show running April 6 to the 15th in New York City.

Terrafugia flying car

"We selected the New York International Auto Show to continue the roll-out of the Transition because of the value this show brings in terms of exposure to future owners, investors, and partners," explained Terrafugia COO Mracek Dietrich.

"The NYIAS is a venue from which we can show the first practical street-legal airplane to the world while meeting the people who will be part of its commercial success in the years to come. New Yorkis the perfect place to accomplish all of this."

Terrafugia flying car

Indeed, Terrafugia will be showcasing a production prototype, allowing attendees to see the street-legal vehicle up close and watch its wings unfold.  The company will also be streaming new video of the car driving on the streets and flying through the air. The max speed for the Transition in the air is a cool 115 mph with a cruise speed of 105 mph. The range is 490 miles, and it requires 1700 feet to take off and make it over a 50-foot obstacle.

Gross takeoff weight for the aircraft is 1430 pounds giving the Transition a 460 pound useful load. The aircraft falls under the FAA Light Sport Aircraft rules. On the ground, the vehicle is rear-wheel drive and when in-flight the vehicle is powered by 100 HP Rotax 912ULS engine. Options for the aircraft include a full vehicle parachute system, and it boasts modern glass avionics. The anticipated price for the aircraft is $279,000 and orders are being taken now with $10,000 refundable deposits.

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Can be useful to developing country: Waste water can generate electricity

American scientists have built a device that can generate electricity from waste water.

BBC said the team from Pennsylvania State Universitysaid the technology would simultaneously also treat the water. The scientists suggested the process could be adopted in developing countries to provide clean water as well as power for homes.

The study has been published in the journal Science.

Device that can generate electricity from waste water

Researchers in the Netherlandshave for some years been exploring the idea of generating power along the country's coastline, where fresh water from rivers meets the salt water of the sea.

Using a process called "reverse electrodialysis", fresh water and seawater are placed in intermittent chambers separated by membranes, and an electrochemical charge is created.

The Pennsylvania team, however, said the reverse electrodialysis technology was problematic because of the large number of membranes required, and because power plants have to be located near the sea.

The number of membranes can be reduced and the power output boosted by combining the technology with what are called "microbial fuel cells". These use organic matter in solution -- in this case waste water -- to create electric current.

Lead researcher Bruce Logan told BBC: "In our process, we have the microbial fuel cell part which is treating waste water and creating energy, and we have the reverse electrodialysis stack which is just boosting that process, it's making it happen more efficiently."

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Mars to glow at its ‘brightest’ tomorrow

Red planet Mars will be brightest and closest “it can get” to earth tomorrow 5th of march 2012, giving sky gazers an opportunity to see it with naked eyes.

“On March 3, Mars was at opposition to sun because of which it would be brightest and closest it can get to earth on March 5,” General Secretary of Planetary Society of India N Raghunandan said.

Brightest mars seen in 2012

In positional astronomy, opposition defines the position of a celestial object when it is on the opposite side of the sun in the sky, Director of NGO Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE) C B Devgun said.

The planet will be shining at -1.23 magnitude and can be seen between east and northeast direction. It will be 100.78 million km away from earth, he said.

“Mars will be brightest till end of April 2012. It will be visible in the night sky until February 2013 with decreasing brightness as it gets far from us as days pass by,” he said.

The next Mars opposition will occur on April 8, 2014, whereas next closest approach is on April 14, 2014. The last time it was at opposition was on January 30, 2010.

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Oxygen detected in Saturn's moon Dione

A NASA spacecraft circling Saturn has discovered a wispy oxygen atmosphere on the ringed planet's icy moon, Dione The discovery - made using the Cassini spacecraft, which flew by Dione nearly two years ago - supports a theory that suggests all of the moons near Saturn and Jupiter might have oxygen around them.

According to co-author Andrew Coates of University College London, Dione has no liquid water and so does not have the conditions to support life. But it is possible that other moons of Jupiter and Saturn do.

Saturna moon Dione

"Some of the other moons have liquid oceans and so it is worth looking more closely at them for signs of life," Prof Coates told BBC News.

It is thought the oxygen is being produced via interactions between Saturn's powerful radiation belts and Dione's water ice. The radiation breaks the water molecules down, liberating oxygen into the moon's exosphere.

Saturn

This most recent discovery will no doubt give a boost to scientists lobbying for sending missions to the gas giant's satellites to search for alien life as, like the presence of liquid water, the presence oxygen could support microscopic lifeforms on other, more habitable moons.

The Cassini research has been published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

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New species of turtle that lived with dinosaurs found in Spain

Researchers have discovered and described a new species of turtle from the end of the age of dinosaurs. They have named this new species as Polysternon isonae, in recognition of the municipality of Isona I Conca Della (Catalonia, Spain), where the fossil remains of the specimen type have been found.

The team behind the discovery include researchers at the Institut Catala de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP), the Museu de la Conca Della (MCD) and the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB).

The abundance of dinosaur fossils that lived between 65 and 70 million years ago in the area currently occupied by the Pyreneesis well known.

In this range we find dozens of sites with bones, footprints and eggs of the last dinosaurs that inhabited our planet, the Tremp basin being one of the areas with the highest concentration of fossils.

However, lesser-known are the other organisms that completed the ecosystems at the end of the Cretaceous period, consisting of other vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, fungi, etc.

A common feature of these ecosystems were turtles. In the Pyrenean sites, their fossils are relatively abundant and, in general, consist of isolated shell plates or small sets of plates that can help us get a general idea of the morphology and size of the animal. Instead, the entire shell finding is rare and even more exceptional is the findings where parts of the skeleton are preserved within the shell.

In recent years, in the municipalityof Isona i Conca Della (Catalonia) numerous discoveries of turtle remains have been made, spread over several sites. One of these sites that of Barranc de Torrebilles has given fairly complete remains that allowed describing a new species: Polysternon isonae.

The remains found consist of dozens of isolated plates derived from the fragmentation of shells through their sutures, and what is more important: a fragment of the ventral side of a shell and an almost entire shell, which without being totally complete, show morphological features of great interest to paleontologists and have allowed to describe this new species.

These remains were recovered during two excavation campaigns conducted during the summers of 2008 and 2009.

So far, two species of the genus Polysternon were known : P. provinciale and P. Atlanticum (plus a possible third P. Mechinorum), distributed only in what is know the south of France and the Iberian Peninsula.

They were animals adapted to swimming and living in fresh waters, in the deeper areas of rivers and lakes. Specifically, the shell of the new species P. isonae was oval, measuring about 50 centimeters long and 40 wide.

The remains were found preserved in a very hard sandstone strata now exposed in the Barranc de Torrebilles.

Just over 65 million years ago, when the animal died, this was not a lithified sandstone and consisted of fine sand that was washed away by river streams and that was deposited, along with the remains of other turtles of the Barranc de Torrebilles, at the bottom of one of these rivers.

Unlike other kinds of turtles, it seems that Polysternon did not survive the end of Cretaceous and went extinct with the dinosaurs. The close proximity of the site Barranc de Torrebilles to the geological level that marks the end of the Cretaceous extinction, indicates that Polysternon isonae was possibly one of the last species of the genus Polysternon.

The finding was published this week in the online edition of the journal Cretaceous Research.

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Obama nominates Peter W Bodde new US ambassador to Nepal

US President Barack Obama has nominated Peter W Bodde, the new US Ambassador to Nepal.

According to the press statement issued by White House, President Obama nominated Bodde after he nominated present ambassador Scott H. DeLisi to Uganda.

Peter  W Bodde

Currently Bodde is Assistant Chief of Mission for Assistance Transition in Iraq and Coordinator for Minority Issues at the US Embassy in Baghdad.

A career foreign service official, Bodde had earlier served in various capacities in India, Nepal and was the Deputy US Ambassador to Pakistan from 2006 to 2008.

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Virgin Galactic's first commercial spaceship to test-fly this year

Virgin Galactic, an offshoot of Richard Branson's Virgin Group, is planning to test-fly its first spaceship beyond the Earth's atmosphere this year, with commercial suborbital passenger service to follow in 2013 or 2014, company officials have announced.

Nearly 500 customers have signed up for rides on SpaceShipTwo, a six-passenger, two-pilot spaceship being built and tested by Scaled Composites, an aerospace company founded by aircraft designer Burt Rutan and now owned by Northrop Grumman.

The suborbital flights, which cost 200,000 dollars per person, are designed to reach an altitude of about 68 miles, giving fliers a few minutes to experience zero gravity and glimpse Earth set against the blackness of space.

"In the suborbital area, there are a lot of things to be done. This is an area that has been essentially absent for about four decades," the Telegraph quoted Neil Armstrong, who was a test pilot for the 1960s-era X-15 research plane before becoming a U.S. astronaut and commander of the first mission to land on the moon, as saying.

"There's a lot of opportunities," Armstrong told about 400 people attending the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference in Palo Alto, California.

"I certainly hope that some of the new approaches will prove to be profitable and useful," he said.

Virgin Galactic is the most visible of a handful of companies developing spaceships for tourism, research, educational and business purposes.

SpaceShipTwo, the first of Virgin's planned five-ship fleet, has completed 31 atmospheric test flights – 15 attached to its carrier aircraft WhiteKnightTwo, and 16 glide tests, William Pomerantz, Virgin Galactic's vice president of special projects, said in a speech to the conference.

Preparations for the ship's first rocket-powered flights are under way at Scaled Composites' Mojave, Calif., plant and expected to take place this year.

"We hope to have the rocket motor in the spaceship later this year and start powered flight testing," Virgin Galactic chief test pilot David Mackay told the conference.

"We would like to be the first to do this, but we're not in a race with anyone. This is not a Cold War-era space race," he added.

Pomerantz told reporters later "We flow pretty quickly from first powered flight to first flight to space and then it's not terribly long from there until we have our first commercial flight to space."

He said passenger service could begin in 2013 or 2014, depending on the results of the test flights and other factors, such as pilot training.

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Is your phone battery low? Recharge it with water

Barcelona It is the nightmare of the wired world — a smartphone low on battery. Now Swedish group myFC says its water-powered charger could be the fix anywhere while battery giant Duracell is championing a push for cars and even stadiums to be built with energy ‘mats' that would power up phones.

A Californian firm, meanwhile, has launched a phone that it claims can remain charged for up to 15 years, making it the perfect spare in emergencies or disasters.

"The difference between the energy on a phone and the energy we consume is increasing. We need to charge more often but you don't want to be hooked onto a wall," said myFC chief executive Bjorn Westerholm.

His firm has therefore come up with a portable fuel cell charger which is slightly larger than a compact camera and which uses just one spoonful of water and a small metallic device called a fuel puck, to fully charge an iPhone. The PowerTrekk could appeal most to campers, aid workers or the military, said Westerholm, who is exhibiting the charger at the world's biggest mobile fair in Barcelona. "It could be sea water, fresh water. You need to carry water with you to survive anyway and the PowerTrekk needs just one spoonful," he said.

 

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Don't panic - asteroid highly unlikely to hit

An asteroid discovered last year could hit the Earth on 5 February 2040, says NASA - but really probably won't.

Asteroid 2011 AG5 - nicknamed Apophis -registers as 1 on the Torinoscale, meaning it 'merits careful monitoring'. It's 460 feet across, and is much smaller than the asteroid believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs, but could still make quite a mess if it hit.

However, scientists say there's very little chance of an impact - and the odds are likely to improve as more data's gathered on its orbit.
Because of its current location in the daytime sky, Earth-based telescopes haven't yet been able to determine its orbit accurately. 

However, 2011 AG5 will be close enough for a better look well before 2040.

It'll next be near Earth in February of 2023, when it will pass no closer than about 1.2 million miles. It'll be back again in 2028, but a lot further away, at around 12.8 million miles. 

According to NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office, it's possible that when these flybys take place, the Earth's gravitational influence could put it on an impact course for February 2040. It's highly unlikely, though, with odds of just one in 625 - and falling.

"In September 2013, we have the opportunity to make additional observations of 2011 AG5 when it comes within 91 million miles of Earth," says Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

"It will be an opportunity to observe this space rock and further refine its orbit. Because of the extreme rarity of an impact by a near-Earth asteroid of this size, I fully expect we will be able to significantly reduce or rule out entirely any impact probability for the foreseeable future."

2011 AG5 is one of 8,744 near-Earth objects to have been found, and was discovered on January 8, 2011, by astronomers using a 60-inch Cassegrain reflector telescope at the summit of Mount Lemmonin Arizona.

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New asteroid could hit earth in 2040: NASA

A new asteroid, identified by NASA, could potentially hit the earth on February 5, 2040, even though it is much smaller than the one - nine miles across - which wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

The UN Action Team on near-Earth objects, which has taken note of the 460-ft asteroid, placed the odds of its hitting the earth at one-in-625, though that could change nearer the time.

Scientists have not yet been able to work out much more about it than its size as they have only been able to observe it for half its orbit. But between 2013 and 2016 they will be able to monitor from the ground and will make a more detailed assessment.

In 2023 the rock will make a 'keyhole pass' of Earth, which is an area it passes through on the orbit before it would hit Earth. This will be within a mere 0.02 astronomical units of our planet, or 1.86 million miles, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.

NASA's infrared sky-scans track space objects such as asteroids. A recent scan with the NeoWISE instruments found that there were 19,000 'mid-sized' asteroids within 120 million miles of Earth, the Daily Mail reports.

According to NASA, among the ways of deflecting it are putting a probe onto the rock and using the extra gravity the craft generates to steer the asteroid away over millions of light years. Another option would be sending a probe into it so that the impact has the same effect.

Nuclear weapons have also been discussed, but this would create a shower of rocks instead of just one.

Mid-sized refers to asteroids in a size range between 330 and 3,300 feet wide, which could destroy a city-sized area were they to hit Earth.

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