In 2013, an object the size of a house broke into our atmosphere and exploded over the city of Chelyabinsk. The explosion knocked out windows in buildings and more than a thousand people were injured by glass. How many such dangerous objects are aimed at the Earth?
Near-Earth objects are asteroids and comets, whose orbits are close to Earth. A close passage causes a risk of collision, which can lead to serious local destruction.
If 10-kilometer space rocks lead to the extinction of the whole species (like the death of dinosaurs), then smaller percussionists cause damage at a particular point of incidence. The meteorite of Chelyabinsk created a powerful shock wave that knocked people down. This is a 17-meter stone, which is compared with a 6-storey building. But he manages to produce 10 times more energy than the Hiroshima bomb. With the help of the telescope, Blanco was able to assess the threat in quantitative terms. Now there are about 3.5 million objects with a diameter of more than 10 meters. Among them, 90% are located within the parameters of the Chelyabinsk drummer.
The analysis also shows that such objects are more likely to collapse on our heads than the percussionists capable of leading to the disappearance of the planet. Probability is based on the principle of the orbital distribution of such bodies. Small ones are created when large ones collide and these objects are grouped together.
It is important for us to develop a competent tracking system that will allow identifying a threat in advance. So far, the best way is to implant synthetic near-Earth objects into the data stream, and then by calculating real ones.
