asteroid strike earth

We've heard the tale of an asteroid crashing on Earth nearly 65 million years ago and wiping out the dinosaurs since our childhood. But did you know that it is backed up by a hypothesis? According to the Alvarez hypothesis, this extinction was caused by a massive asteroid that crashed on Earth. Scientists have also discovered the origin of the asteroid. It would've originated between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid terraformed the planet and is likely the reason that started the extinction of dinosaurs.…

Eager scientists and a gleaming lab awaits.A sample from the asteroid Bennu, which could be key to understanding the formation of the solar system and our own planet, is set to be analyzed at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston after it reaches Earth in late September. The precious cargo is currently aboard OSIRIS-REx, a US space probe launched in 2016 to Bennu, which orbits the Sun at an average distance of about 105 million miles (168 million kilometers). Long white sleeves hang from the huge metal and glass box in…

To minimize the uncertainty and counter the potential threat posed by asteroids that come close to Earth, space agencies like NASA, ESA, and others use advanced technologies like ground and space-based telescopes to keep an eye on these Near-Earth Objects. Although an asteroid isn't expected to hit Earth in the next 100 years, according to Dr. Davide Farnocchia of NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), approximately 3,000 new NEOs are discovered annually, which makes continuous monitoring and trajectory…

Asteroids have struck Earth several times in history and caused a major impact. According to NASA, a single asteroid collided with the planet nearly 65 million years ago, which is said to be the reason behind the extinction of dinosaurs. There have been other extinction level catastrophes too. Though the collision was cataclysmic and caused the dinosaurs to go extinct, our planet, and life itself, survived! Does this mean that Earth cannot be destroyed by an asteroid even though many living things on it may go extinct?…

The rise of artificial intelligence has been a subject of debate ever since OpenAI introduced its generative AI bot ChatGPT in November 2022. Everyone, from enthusiasts, experts to regulators have all been trying to understand what this unprecedented advancement of AI technology could mean for humanity. The concern is that if AI is allowed to progress without any checks and balances, a plethora of issues such as unemployment, data privacy, biases in decision-making, and more can appear. Recently, an MIT professor has…

The majority of asteroids occupy a specific place in the inner solar system. They reside within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Yet, there are a few that stray from their orbits and come near the Earth. To identify all asteroids that fly close to our planet, NASA uses the classification of Near-Earth objects or NEOs. These are the asteroids that come within a range of 50 million kilometers to the Earth. However, within this category exists a terrifying sub-population of asteroids that can destroy the Earth if…

Space is a dangerous place. It is filled with a massive number of gigantic and high-speed celestial bodies moving in random directions. And some of them pose a big threat to the Earth. Just a couple of days ago, an asteroid exploded over the skies in Europe. This is why space agencies such as NASA have doubled down on planetary defense measures. Last year, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission was conducted successfully and now, NASA has begun construction of the Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor space…

Many asteroids come extremely close to the Earth, but eventually, they all make a safe passage and fly away without posing any risk to us. However, that was not the case recently, when an asteroid darted towards the Earth and would have struck it, if it was not for the atmosphere. The atmospheric drag heated the asteroid up and it exploded. The fireball asteroid was seen flying across the sky over Europe, reminding us that if things had been a little different, it could have struck any of the major cities and caused a…

The Earth is filled with bewildering places and structures and in most cases they are either built naturally by forces within the Earth or by humans. However, there is one place on Earth that ranks among the most unique places on the planet, yet the credit does not go either to humans or the planet itself. Nordlingen is a small town in Bavaria, Germany which may not appear out-of-the-ordinary, but it is much frequented by NASA and ESA astronomers. Why? It's because the entire town is built on an asteroid crash site. Yes,…

Whenever asteroids have hit Earth, they have impacted lives, and by doing so, these space rocks have time and again changed the course of history. Although asteroids make close approaches to Earth nearly every day, none of them are big enough to potentially threaten life on Earth. But what if an asteroid, which is capable of ending life, actually hits Earth?Apocalyptic movies like Armageddon or Deep Impact have explored the possibility of a total annihilation of life on Earth. These “What Ifs” of world destruction have…