DUBAI: An asteroid capable of wiping out life on Earth will pass relatively close on Friday, Sept. 1, 2017.
The three-mile-wide rock, named Florence, will travel through space approximately 4.4 million miles away from Earth.
That is roughly 18 times the distance between the Moon and Earth.
In space terms this is relatively close – but NASA is reminding people that space “is really big.”
So, while it could wipe us out in a flash, that will not happen on this occasion, unless someone somewhere has made a serious miscalculation.
But if it did hit, scientists say it would probably throw up a cloud of dust, leading to fire raining down, setting the planet’s forests ablaze.
Destroying the environment and making most life unsustainable.
By comparison, the asteroid thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago was 6 miles wide, that is more than double the size of Florence.
“Florence is the largest asteroid to pass by our planet this close since the Nasa program to detect and track near-Earth asteroids began,” said Paul Chados, the scientist managing Nasa’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.
The presence of this vast asteroid has been known since 1981, although it is said the last time Florence came this close was 1890.
And if you miss it passing this time, Florence will be back, but probably not until the year 2500.
‘Close shave’ with massive asteroid expected on Friday
‘Close shave’ with massive asteroid expected on Friday
Apple to update EU browser options, make more apps deletable
- iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7
- Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options
STOCKHOLM: Apple will change how users choose browser options in the European Union, add a dedicated section for changing default apps, and make more apps deletable, the company said on Thursday.
The iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7, forcing big tech companies to offer mobile users the ability to select from a list of available web browsers on a “choice screen.”
The new rules require mobile software makers to show the choice screen where users can select a browser, search engine and virtual assistant as they set up their phones, which earlier came with preferred options from Apple and Google.
In an update later this year, Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options.
A randomly ordered list of 12 browsers per EU country will be shown to the user with short descriptions, and the chosen one will be automatically downloaded, Apple said. The choice screen will also be available on iPads through an update later this year.
Apple released a previous update in response to the new rules in March, but browser companies criticized the design of its choice screen, and the Commission opened an investigation on March 25 saying it suspected that the measures fell short of effective compliance.
The company said it has been in dialogue with the European Commission and believes the new changes will address regulators’ concerns.
It also plans to introduce a dedicated area for default apps where a user will be able to set defaults for messaging, phone calls, spam filters, password managers and keyboards.
Users will also be able to delete certain Apple-made apps such as App Store, Messages, Camera, Photos and Safari. Only Settings and Phone apps would not be deletable.
