EXPERTS WARN: We Are Not Protected From Asteroids And An Impact Could Be World Ending
LIFE on our planet is at grave risk of being DESTROYED by massive space rocks, experts have warned.
This summer, on June 30, the second annual Asteroid Day will comes exactly 108 years after a large meteorite exploded over the skies of the Russian countryside.
Scientists fear not enough is being done to protect us from asteroids and have highlighted the Chelyabinsk incident – also in Russia – in 2013 as reason to raise awareness.
A meteorite just 65ft wide disintegrated in the skies, but the blast caused damage to local buildings and nature in the Russian city.
Its entrance into the atmosphere went unnoticed by experts who were meant to be tracking asteroids, and had it been much larger, it would have caused a lot more damage and potentially even mass deaths.
Mark Boslough, a physicist at Sandia National Laboratories and one of the founders of Asteroid Day, said: “An event like Chelyabinsk happens about once every 50 years, and we don’t have a system designed to discover and track these things.”
Grig Richters, a director and co-founder of the annual event, added: “This is not about fear mongering, it’s about being aware there is a potential threat, and understanding better where we are from.”
Former astronaut and chair of the Association of Space Explorers’ Committee on Near-Earth Objects, Tom Jones, continued: “Bringing space technology to bear to deflect asteroids will require widespread public support.
“We only need modest resources compared to the cost of absorbing impact.
“Asteroid Day is to educate the public so we can work together to avoid an impact.”
Asteroid Day has attracted wide-spread support from experts, including the likes of former Queen guitarist Brian May who is also an expert in astrophysics.
Celeb scientist Bill Nye was also in attendance at last the conference, and stated that humans should use our advanced technology to protect ourselves.
He quipped: “We’ve no evidence the dinosaurs had a space program, and it cost them.”
EDITOR’S COMMENT: “Is the wish to make the public more aware/prepared for an impact risk just because of the Chelyabinsk incident in Russia in 2013 or might another reason be the steady stream of fireballs being seen over and over and over…”