DeKALB | To borrow from Michael Stipe: Is it the end of the world as we know it?

That’s what a group of engineers and scientists say could happen – even if it’s a long shot. According to Reuters, an asteroid named Apophis could strike the earth on April 13, 2036.

The chance of the asteroid striking earth is 1 in 45,000, which gives some scientists reason to insist that the United Nations should take responsibility and develop a space mission to deflect the asteroid.

If the United Nations does decide to take action, the task could cost up to $300 million.

Even though the asteroid has a low probability of making an impact, NASA is updating its tracking of asteroids near Earth.

Despite the worry, NIU physics professor Dave Hedin isn’t taking it too seriously.

“I don’t think people should be worried at all, especially since these kinds of cases occur every year,” Hedin said. “The right response that should be taken is to continue to monitor the asteroid and see what comes out of this. In reality, if the asteroid does hit Earth, there’s nothing that anybody could do to prevent it from happening.”

Hedin doesn’t think students or people in general should waste their time worrying about something that might not even happen.

“I think there’s a greater chance that a student could get hit by a Huskie Bus than this asteroid hitting Earth,” Hedin said.