When Siberia shook with a mega explosion equal to 12 to 15 megatons of TNT, people worldwide realized that asteroids could be hazardous. That’s one of the reasons 30th June has been chosen as World Asteroid Day, when governments are asked to devise a plan for dealing with an unwanted asteroid.
Asteroids are giant rocks that occasionally pass by Earth. They can range from pebble-sized celestial bodies to objects a few kilometers in diameter. While most asteroids are harmless, some are on a direct collision course with the planet and could cause devastating damage. This threat is why astronomers and scientists are working to understand better asteroids, their composition, and their impact potential so that steps can be taken to prevent a catastrophic asteroid strike.
Several events are planned for Asteroid Day by museums, schools, universities, clubs, and space agencies across the globe. You can find an official list of officially sanctioned events on the Asteroid Day website, but you can also get involved by organizing your activity. For example, you can host a public lecture or exhibition on asteroids or organize a competition to develop a communication plan in the event of a near-Earth object (NEO) threat.
Another idea is to screen a movie that explores the potential of a meteor or asteroid’s impact. The film 51 Degrees North, co-produced by some of the founding members of International Asteroid Day and featuring actor Sean Connery, is an excellent place to start. Then there’s the classic Meteor (1979), directed by Grigorij Richters and featured Queen guitarist Brian May.
One of the main goals of Asteroid Day is to increase public awareness of the risk of an asteroid strike, and it’s also important to educate people about the history of such events as the Tunguska explosion. It’s an excellent time to remind people that if we see a NEO on the radar, it can be detected, and the trajectory changed in enough time to prevent a catastrophe.
Asteroid Day is also a chance to raise funds for research into detecting NEOs and their potential threat to the planet. The Asteroid Day Foundation supports various projects that aim to develop technologies to detect NEOs and their impacts in advance.
This year’s official Asteroid Day theme revolves around the asteroid 2023 DW. This rocky body, about the size of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, has a 0.13% chance of hitting Earth in 2032. It’s currently 0.12 astronomical units from us, or about 11 billion miles. But if it did hit, it would be one of the most devastating impacts in human history. It might even wipe out the entire species. Scientists continue to monitor the asteroid’s path and provide updates as they become available. It’s looking less likely that it will make a surprise visit to Earth as time goes by.