Though it may sound a little bizarre, it is being said by an MIT scientist that a dangerous asteroid can be redirected to its source with the help of paintballs fired at it, in case it approaches the Earth, as per a new report.

It is being said that only the time needs to be right and the pellets, which are full of paint powder, can be launched from a nearby spacecraft in two rounds. As per the findings, the asteroid's reflectivity or albedo is more than doubled with the same.

The asteroid Apophis was used by Graduate student Sung Wook Paek as a theoretical test case. The Apophis is about to come closer in 2029 to the planet Earth. The report finds that with a diameter of 1,480 feet, five tons of paint would be all that is required to cover the asteroid.

It is being said that in the first round of shots, the front would be covered, while the second round would include covering the back when the asteroid has rotated.

"We should develop a few deflection techniques so we know we have a viable `toolbox' of deflection capabilities to implement when we inevitably discover an asteroid on an impact trajectory", said program manager for NASA's Near Earth Objects Observation Program, Lindley Johnson.