What are the chances of an asteroid strike?
Reports of asteroids passing nearby are becoming increasingly common. Dr Gareth Dorrian comments on the likelihood of one hitting the Earth.
Reports of asteroids passing nearby are becoming increasingly common. Dr Gareth Dorrian comments on the likelihood of one hitting the Earth.
"Asteroids pass close to Earth quite a few times a year but typically involve objects of just a few meters in size which would burn up in the Earth's atmosphere if they hit us, posing no threat.
"The recent up-tick in near-Earth object reports is likely an example of observer bias, which is to say that as our detection technology has improved we are detecting more such near-Earth objects when they pass close by, rather than any significant natural up-tick in the actual number of them passing through our planetary neighbourhood."