Izrail

(Iz•rah´•ēl) Named for the Islamic angel of death, this planetoid collided with Earth in 2799 CE and destroyed the planetary ecosystem. The planetoid had a diameter of 135km and approached Earth from the direction of Polaris. It occulted the pole star until it was within .16AU of Earth. Izrail struck the Arctic ice cap at 89°32´55" N 49°15´21"W at 23:47:36.5 UTC on September, 9, 2799 CE and at a speed of 1,458kps. A United Nations inquiry board convened on Ceres in 2800 CE concluded that the untimely coincidence of the planetoid’s orbit - 73°N of the plane of the ecliptic – matching the position of Polaris made it impossible for the ECATS orbital observatories to identify the Earth crossing planetoid until parallax made it possible on September 2, 2799 CE. The ECATS system calculated at that distance and at the speed of closure nothing could be done to prevent collision. It was determined that the ECADS defense system could not deflect Izrail and that more of Earth’s population might be saved if the planetoid remained intact. As it was nearly 360,000,000 deaths were attributed to the collision, the firestorm and the tidal wave that resulted from the impact. An impact estimated to have the destructive force of 27,000 megatons.