There are a lot of risk that threaten Earth : Supervolcanoes , climate change , and so on . But one that normally flies under the radiolocation is the threat of an asteroid hitting Earth . It ’s a very existent possibility , and also something we can get up for .
Tomorrow , June 30 , isAsteroid Day . This day , sanctioned by the United Nations , aims to increase the consciousness of asteroid , trying to drum up support to track them good , and possibly bar one hitting us in the future tense .
Although it ’s been running since 2014 , this is the first sentence theUN has got involved . The European , Japanese , and US distance agencies are also alltaking part .
" The United Nations declaration of June 30 as Asteroid Day is a very important milepost for us , " Grigorij Richters , the founder of Asteroid Day , told IFLScience . " We ask to nurture awareness about the asteroid hazard . It ’s a world trouble and we demand a global solution . "
There are event choose spot around the populace tomorrow for Asteroid Day , which will bebroadcast livefor 24 60 minutes , with the main consequence in Luxembourg . Some of the gens involve include Brian Cox , Neil deGrasse Tyson , and Brian May . There ’s a fullprogram scheduleavailable so you’re able to tune in when something catches your fancy .
Back in 1908 , on June 30 , the largest asteroid issue in recorded history took berth . love as the Tunguska event , this saw a comet or asteroid explode in the air above Siberia with up to 30 megatons of energy . It flattened 2,000 square kilometers ( 770 square miles ) of timberland , and while there were no recorded decease , it serve as a reminder of the damage asteroids can cause .
It ’s guess that we only know about three - quarters of the asteroids that could shoot us . And if a sizeable one measuring at least a few tens of metre across was heading out way , we ’d be in trouble . you may see how much fuss in thisonline simulator .
There are no asteroids that we hump of presently on a collision course with Earth . NASA keeps a running list of the biggest threats , and nothing has ever caused alarm . you could see a list of some potentially wild asteroids ( PHAs ) that will pass close to Earth by 2200here , and some with a risk of impact probabilityhere .
NASA expend a scale to judge the threat of asteroids , called theTorino scale . This ranges from zero , or no chance of hitting us , to 10 , which means a hit is certain . There are no known asteroids that measure above zero at the minute .
But if there was one on a collision line , there are a number of solutions to hold on it . There is theArmageddon glide slope , although this would involve using a atomic bomb to change the trajectory of an asteroid , rather than louse up it up . Another involves using a big space vehicle as agravitational jerk , to pull the asteroid off our path . A few other methods involve like techniques .
All , however , need us to find any PHAs far in advance . These methods rely on us spending year to easy change the flight of an asteroid ; there ’s no solution if an asteroid is going to strike within a year or so . Thus , we need to get better at tracking them – which is what Asteroid Day is all about .
“ establish on what ’s get it on about the NEO population and Earth ’s wallop history , scientists forebode that Earth will experience another big - scale impact someday in the future – they just do n’t know exactly when , ” Asteroid Day note in its mission instruction . “ Our goal is to raise public awareness about asteroid skill and plan for wandering defense . ”
We ’ve receive a few interesting missionary work in the works to teach us about asteroid . NASA is presently flying a space vehicle calledOSIRIS - RExto an asteroid , to return a sampling to Earth . And the upcomingLarge Synoptic Survey Telescope(LSST ) , will help us better tail them when it comes online in 2019 .
We need to do more to raise knowingness , though , as evidenced by ESApulling fundingon a mission with NASA to do ward off an asteroid ( although the missioncould still be saved ) .
At times , the threat of an asteroid can seem a bit far - fetched . But you only have to calculate back to 2013 , when an unseen asteroid burst forth above Chelyabinsk in Russia and injured hundreds , to see the threat they can have .
The dinosaur did n’t have a space program ( that we know of ) to avoid their own extinction . But as we do , it probably makes sense to organise for such an eventuality .
