Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 1st July. UN Office for Outer Space Affairs on Friday marked ther International Asteroid Day to raise awareness across the planet stated that over 18,000 near-Earth objects lurking beyond the stratosphere, 2,000 are classified as potentially hazardous to the planet.
According to the outer space agency, NEOs are asteroids or comets that come relatively close to the Sun, to 50 million kilometres from Earth’s orbit.
Some are ‘potentially hazardous objects’ come even closer in interstellar terms with a minimum distance of less than 7.5 million kilometers, the agency reported.
It measures over 140 meters across, the PHOs have the potential to cause regional devastation with possible global consequences.
It said even smaller objects can still cause significant localized, damage.
The object responsible for the Tunguska event on 30 June 1908 over Siberia, is believed to have been up to 60 metres in diameter.
The largest asteroid impact event in recorded history, it was chosen in 2017 as a fitting anniversary to commemorate International Asteroid Day.
NEOs smaller can be hazardous, can damage buildings and injure people.
It noted that on 15 February 2013, a large fireball 20 meters across disintegrated in the skies over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk.
According to US Space Administration, the explosion released the energy equivalent of around 440,000 tons of TNT and generated a shock wave that blew out windows and even damaged buildings.
Over 1,600 people were injured in the blast, mostly due to shattered glass, NASA said.
The majority of such objects originate from the inner part of the Solar System’s main asteroid belt. They form under the gravitational influence of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, and because of collisions between larger space bodies.
UNOOSA experts have been tracking NEOs for many years insist that such a global issue merits a robust international response.
It addressed the hazard, it sounds like a page out of a sci-fi playbook, includes identifying threats, and coming up with some solutions.
IAWN and the SMPAG were established to coordinate global planetary defence.
The task of IAWN is to provide Member States with comprehensive communication plans and protocols to help take educated decisions in case of an asteroid impact, the SMPAG acts as an inter-space agency forum that selects technologies needed for NEO deflection and helps reach consensus on planetary defence measures.
IAWN would issue an alert in practical terms this means that should there be a credible impact threat.
If the object is larger than 50 metres and the probability of impact exceeds one percent within the next 50 years, SMPAG would evaluate mitigation options and come up with an implementation plan.
UNOOSA’s aim is to protect the Earth and humankind from the devastating impact of asteroids and International Asteroid Day has over years grown into a global educational campaign to help do just that.
Comments are closed.