Astronomer and Head of the Colombo University Physical Science Department Prof. Chandana Jayaratne says that there is no reason to fear over the mysterious chunk of space debris which foreign media reported would hit the Earth off the coast of Sri Lanka on November 13.
He said that such forecasts about the places on the Earth where space objects would fall have often gone wrong in the past and it is very unlikely that there will be any danger or bad effect on Sri Lanka.
“It will finally depend on the wind and other factors and it may even go far away. Anyway, it will not bring any harm on people as it will go into pieces when it reaches the earth,” Prof. Jayaratne told The Nation.
He said that the scientists have found an object which is not yet identified. They have also mentioned that it is set to land in the Indian Ocean, around 40 miles (65km) off the southern tip of Sri Lanka The scientists have noted that the object measures up to 07 feet and have dubbed it as WT1190F.
Daily Mail reported that the piece of space debris initially puzzled observers. But astronomers then went back through the lab’s past images from telescopes, and noticed that it had been present at least since 2012. They also said that it has been circling the Earth at a longer orbit than the Moon, and deduced that the piece of cosmic refuse was likely placed there by man.