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Asteroid Collision is Our Destiny Says Nasa
Meteor on Course for Collision With Earth? NASA Scientist Says Yes
Near-Earth Objects
A Near-Earth Object (NEO) is generally defined as an asteroid or comet that approaches our planet less than 1.3 times the distance from Earth to the Sun (the Earth-Sun distance is about 93 million miles). Most NEOs pose no peril at all. It’s the small percentage of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids that draws extra scrutiny. These objects are defined as those that approach—earth at less than half the Earth-Sun distance.
What are NEOs?
They are often referred to as “potentially hazardous asteroids.” NEOs range in size from a few to many kilometres across, depending on the size of the body’s nucleus.
- The largest of these have been detected and designated as potential threats to our planet. Unfortunately, we are still in the process of discovering and cataloging these space rocks.
What is the size of the most prominent known NEO? This is the Vesta — a giant asteroid almost 4.5 km across, meaning it is about three times the asteroid's size that hit the Earth, destroying the dinosaurs.
- The 2011 Tunguska impact is the most significant confirmed collision with an asteroid. This…
