What If An Asteroid COLLIDED with Earth ?

If an asteroid were on a collision course with Earth, what would happen? While hundreds of space rocks fall through our atmosphere every year, most are small enough to burn up on entry, so there is little noticeable impact. However, throughout Earth's history, there have been several large strikes, and NASA has been conducting tests to see how prepared we are. Unfortunately, the results show that we are not ready. NASA estimates that every day, more than a hundred tons of dust and small particles fall to the Earth. On average, a car-sized object enters the atmosphere once a year and burns up, creating a fireball that streaks across the sky. Objects as large as a football field collide with Earth once every two thousand years, while a potential extinction-level collision is expected to happen every few million years.

Anything less than 82 feet across will burn up and cause only minor damage, while anything up to half a mile across will cause significant damage to the impact site. Anything larger than that could have worldwide consequences. Currently, the largest known potentially dangerous object in space is Toutatis, which is just over three miles across. An asteroid known as Apophis is expected to pass incredibly close to Earth in 2029. It is a thousand two hundred and thirteen feet wide. Although there are much larger objects in space, they are not currently on a collision course with Earth.

To prepare for such an event, NASA is working with space agencies around the world to simulate an impact. Something they do every couple of years to learn how much warning we would get, how people would react, and whether there is anything that could be done to protect people. In a fictional scenario created by NASA, a near-Earth object was discovered in March 2019, with initial signs that it could impact Earth in 2027.

The planetary defense conference, which took place in early May 2019, released information about the asteroid, including details about its eccentric orbits, uncertainty about its composition, and refined predictions about its exact path. The odds of a collision were calculated as 1 in 100. With its orbital path, the asteroid would remain observable for the rest of the year before fading from view, requiring larger telescopes to monitor it.

Delegates at the conference were tasked with planning how resources could be dedicated to learning more about the asteroid. The options ranged from training more telescopes on it to launching a spacecraft to monitor it more closely. If the worst were confirmed, options for how its path could be deflected would need to be considered. Others focused more on the societal impact of such a discovery. With eight years of planning, governments would be able to build safe zones, perhaps underground, where people could be protected from an impact.

Of course, the effectiveness of these safe zones would depend on the exact point of impact and how severe the impact was. It reinforces the importance of finding out more about the asteroid's trajectory and the materials it is made from. Finally, there is the question of when to release information about a near-Earth object to the public. If the odds of a collision were calculated as 1 in 100, it could be irresponsible to tell everyone, as it might cause massive panic. Law enforcement and emergency services would need to be prepared for the public reaction. The timing of information release would be crucial.

Scenarios like these help emergency planners such as those at FEMA understand what information would be available to them and what their options might be. While we are not at the level of concern seen in movies like Armageddon and Deep Impact, it is best to be prepared. The possibility of a large object striking our planet is always there, and we do not know how much warning we will get. So, while it might seem like space agencies are indulging