Scientists are n’t entirely sure when the last major asteroid hit the Earth , but it ’s sure to happen again . And Alan Harris , asteroid researcher at the German Aerospace Center ( Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt ; DLR ) , is hop to head the next one off . Last month , Harris make an outside collaboration of 13 researchers to look into methods of shielding the Earth from near Earth object ( NEOs ) . The projection is , fitly , called NEOShield .
Top image : NASA / Don Davis .
asteroid approaching the planet typically travel between 5 and 30 kilometres ( about 5 to 19 miles ) per second . As that speed , a temperate sized body can have major consequences . The Barringer Crater in Arizona , often referred to as Meteor Crater , is a 1,200 time volcanic crater ( about 3,950 feet or 0.7 miles ) that scientists hypothesize was triggered by a 50 m ( 164 feet ) meteor .
The risky word is that there are one thousand of known NEOs just like the one that made Meteor Crater , leading expert to posit that a dangerous collision could happen as often as every two hundred years .
The good news program is that it ’s possible to stop an asteroid hitting the Earth . You just have to be in the good place at the right sentence to give the aim the right button in another direction . Meteor Crater near Winslow , Arizona . Image course credit : NASA .
scientist are concenter on possible methods of redirecting threatening asteroids so they lack the Earth . “ In gild to modify their ambit and foreclose a collision with Earth , a force-out must be exert on them , ” explains Alan Harris . “ And at the precise clip , as well . ” One way to do this is to have a spacecraft wallop a minacious asteroid , imparting enough military group to commute its scope . “ In my vox populi , this is a very practical method , ” pronounce Harris . But there are still question to respond , like how to maneuver the spacecraft to a moving target at the right angle for the right wallop and how to understate the effects of fuel movement on the spacecraft ’s path .
Another way is to employ the spacecraft ’s gravitational pull to prod the asteroid into a different orbit . If the object is far enough away , a bantam jerk could have a big effect . But so far , “ this method only exists on newspaper publisher , ” say Harris , “ but it could work . ”
An asteroid , docile in space but deadly to Earth . Image credit : NASA / JPL
Another third , less appealing prospect , is to use explosive business leader to break up an Earth - bound asteroid . But this could be disastrous , create a shower of debris rather of one unanimous piece . As such , Harris look at this method acting a last refuge . “ If a very prominent , dangerous target with a diam of one kilometer [ 0.6 miles ] or more is key , ” explains Harris , changing its cranial orbit wo n’t be a option . “ The great force play we would be able to use to divert the asteroid from its way would be a nuclear detonation . This technique is regarded as a very controversial . ”
Over the next three years , during which the European Union will support the task with four million Euros and international collaborator will impart an extra 1.8 million Euros , the NEOShield project will search these defence method acting . The scientists will focus on data from asteroid observance and lab experiment to generate computer simulations , finally determining how good to protect the Earth from next devastating impacts .
This article Amy Shira Teiteloriginally appeared at Universe Today . Amy Shira Teitel is an historian of spaceflight , blogger , and freelance writer . Her web log , Vintage Space , chronicles her love life of space history and man space geographic expedition . She conduce to Universe Today and motherboard.tv .
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