Earth is probably safe from being hit by a large asteroid for the next millennium, according to a studyaccepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal. The study involves calculating the orbits of the starry objects around us, and with recent technology, scientists are able to predict their paths well into the next century, explains thisMIT Technology Review article. The study found that there is one asteroid — 1994 PC1 — that could collide with our planet, but the probability of impact is 0.00152%, indicating that it’s still highly unlikely to happen.

Small asteroids still pose a risk: The study suggests that we’re unlikely to be at major risk of impact with asteroids that are 1 km wide, but there remains the possibility of impact with smaller rocks, which could still cause destruction. Even though NASA is studying smaller asteroids, that endeavor is only 40% complete, leaving a lot of uncertainty towards damage made to different parts of the world as a result of one — or several — smaller asteroids heading towards our planet.

Meta sells Giphy at a huge loss after regulatory intervention: Facebook parent company Meta sold its gif search engine, Giphy, to stock image service Shutterstock for USD 53 mn, after complying with a 2022 antitrust order from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in 2022, The Guardian reports. The sale sees Meta losing more than USD 260 mn — the difference between the final sale price and the USD 315 mn Meta paid in November 2021 to acquire Giphy.

It looks like gifs are becoming passé: Meta’s acquisition of Giphy was about USD 300 mn short of the company’s 2016 highest valuation at USD 600 mn, suggesting that gifs’ day in the sun has passed. The animated images “have fallen out of fashion as a content form, with younger users in particular describing gifs as ‘for boomers’ and cringe,” Meta said last year as it tried to avoid a forced sale, arguing that Giphy would struggle to survive on its own.

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