Lifeboat Foundation

NASA is edging closer to the conclusion of its ambitious seven-year mission, aiming to prevent a catastrophic collision of a massive asteroid named Bennu with Earth. Recent findings have indicated that there’s a 1 in 2,700 chance of Bennu slamming into Earth on September 24, 2182.

Roughly the size of the iconic Empire State Building, Bennu spans about a third of a mile wide. The potential aftermath of its predicted collision with Earth could equate to the explosive energy of 22 atomic bombs.

The asteroid makes its presence felt by passing Earth approximately every six years. However, scientists anticipate that its most perilous close encounter could be a mere 159 years away.

The year one hundred two thousand twenty-three. A giant meteorite the size of Pluto is approaching the Solar System. It flies straight to Earth. But as the meteorite crosses Saturn’s orbit, a swarm of miner probes approaches it. The scan revealed no minerals on the object, so the searches returned with nothing.

Meanwhile, the Space Security Center in Alaska military personnel are setting up a laser. The Solar System witnesses a sudden flare and nothing remains of the dwarf-sized meteorite. Now, unless hydrogen miners on Jupiter post videos of another annihilation on social media… This is what the world will look like when humanity finally becomes a Type Two civilization on the Kardashev scale. We’ll have almost infinite energy reserves, the ability to prepare for interstellar flights, or to instantly destroy any threat. But will humanity really be safe? And what can ruin a Type Two civilization?

The mission was successful, and Dimorphos’ orbit was shortened by 33 minutes in the weeks after the impact.

However, a team of high school students led by teacher Jonathan Swift at Thacher School in California have discovered that Dimorphos’ orbit continued to shrink by another minute more than a month after the collision.

‘The number we got was slightly larger, a change of 34 minutes,’ said Mr Swift. ‘That was inconsistent at an uncomfortable level.’

Asteroid 2021 JA5 is around the size of 81 bulldogs, the symbol of the college football team of the University of Georgia. But it won’t hit us – hopefully the Bulldog team will have better luck.

An asteroid discovery algorithm—designed to uncover near-Earth asteroids for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s upcoming 10-year survey of the night sky—has identified its first “potentially hazardous” asteroid, a term for space rocks in Earth’s vicinity that scientists like to keep an eye on.

The roughly 600-foot-long asteroid, designated 2022 SF289, was discovered during a test drive of the algorithm with the ATLAS survey in Hawaii. Finding 2022 SF289, which poses no risk to Earth for the foreseeable future, confirms that the next-generation algorithm, known as HelioLinc3D, can identify near-Earth asteroids with fewer and more dispersed observations than required by today’s methods.

Continue reading “New algorithm ensnares its first ‘potentially hazardous’ asteroid” »

A meteor has exploded over the Atlantic Ocean with the force of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It’s one of the ways that civilisation as we know it could end, with an asteroid impact sending the human race the way of the dinosaurs. It’s a terrifying prospect, and the film Don’t Look Up with Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio really didn’t help matter with its demonstration of the paralysis and greed which could doom humanity.

Most Americans favor NASA’s focus on deflecting asteroids to protect Earth rather than pursuing lunar and Martian exploration.

In a galaxy not so far away, most Americans are casting their eyes on the skies, but not necessarily on the Moon or Mars. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center has unveiled that most Americans are more concerned about the threat of potential asteroid impacts on Earth, urging NASA to deflect these space intruders rather than diverting its resources to lunar and Martian exploration.

The survey, conducted among over 10,000 individuals, offers an insightful glimpse into the public’s views on space exploration, NASA’s role, private space companies, and the United States’ position as a leader in space.

Italy’s Campi Flegrei is showing some troubling early warning signs, but scientists caution that its eruption is far from certain.

When will an asteroid hit Earth and wipe us out? Not for at least 1,000 years, according to a team of astronomers. Probably.

Either way, you should get to know an asteroid called 7482 (1994 PC1), the only one known whose orbital path will cross that of Earth’s consistently for the next millennium—and thus has the largest probability of a “deep close encounter” with us, specifically in 502 years. Possibly.

Published on a preprint archive and accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal, the paper states that astronomers have almost found all the kilometer-sized asteroids. There’s a little under 1,000 of them.