Asteroid impact avoidance

Uncommon card · No. 172996

Asteroid impact avoidance encompasses the methods by which near-Earth objects (NEO) on a potential collision course with Earth could be diverted, preventing destructive impact events. An impact by a sufficiently large asteroid or other NEOs would cause, depending on its impact location, massive tsunamis or multiple firestorms, and an impact winter caused by the sunlight-blocking effect of large quantities of pulverized rock dust and other debris placed into the stratosphere. A collision 66 million years ago between the Earth and an object approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) wide is thought to have produced the Chicxulub crater and triggered the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event that the scientific community understands to have caused the extinction of all non-avian dinosaurs. While the chances of a major collision are low in the near term, it is a near-certainty that one will happen eventually unless defensive measures are taken. Astronomical events—such as the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacts...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Dr Nicolas Erasmus (SAAO) and Amanda Sickafoose (Planetary Science Institute) using the Mookodi instrument on the (South African Astronomical Observatory) SAAO's 1-m Lesedi telescope., CC BY-SA 4.0