Telha
Asteroids are small, rocky objects that orbit the sun. While they’re smaller than planets, having one head towards Earth is a serious concern.
To address this, NASA astronomers have been simulating such an event. They tested a scenario in which an asteroid had a 72 percent chance of hitting our planet in 14 years. In a report, NASA explained that although there is no significant threat of an asteroid impact in the foreseeable future, these exercises are invaluable.
“The uncertainties in these initial conditions for the exercise allowed participants to consider a particularly challenging set of circumstances,” said Lindley Johnson, planetary defense officer emeritus at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “A large asteroid impact is potentially the only natural disaster humanity has the technology to predict years in advance and take action to prevent.”
The simulation, held at the John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland, involved nearly 100 experts who considered possible responses to such an event.
Initial findings indicated that understanding the asteroid’s size and trajectory was challenging. The scenario was complicated further by the need to delay observations for seven months because, in the hypothetical situation, the asteroid had passed behind the sun shortly after being discovered.
