We’ve seen the asteroid apocalypse in movies, TV shows, and more. We have imagined what it would be like, the consequences of the impact and more thanks to film adaptations. But beyond fiction, we have always asked ourselves that question, related to one of our great fears: Is it possible for an asteroid to totally destroy the Earth? The POT reply.
As he recalls a report published on the website of mdz, asteroids are celestial and rocky bodies smaller than a planet and larger than a meteoroid. Those near Earth orbit mostly between Mars and Jupiter, in the so-called asteroid belt of the Solar System.
NASA experts reassessed through high-resolution digital satellite topography the actual size of the craters caused by the impact of near-Earth objects on our planet.
From this analysis, they considered that we may have been misinterpreting the traces of some of the most significant asteroid impacts that have occurred in the last few million years, which led them to wonder if a huge space rock could wipe us out.
The odds of a giant asteroid impact: high
At the 2023 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, experts said that if these new calculations are confirmed, the odds of being hit by a giant asteroid could be higher than current estimates predict.
For its part, the magazine Science James Garvin, chief expert at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, was quoted in a report as saying that “the probability would be in the range of serious things happening.”
“High-resolution analysis of the eroded remains of some of the larger impact craters revealed that they exhibit faint rings beyond what would normally be considered their outer rims. Recalculation of the rim diameters of these craters revealed that their actual size has been underestimated and that their diameter is actually double or triple what was previously assumed.Garvin explains.
“The new estimate suggests that kilometer-sized objects may impact our planet every 10,000 years.”.
However, the study authors also point out that these newly discovered rings may not necessarily be impact waves. Garvin complemented: “It is an extraordinary statement. we haven’t tried anything”.