What are near-Earth objects, and how much danger are we really in of a catastrophic event? These monsters are, asteroids, meteoroids, and comets whose orbits bring them close distances to our orbit. There may therefore pose a dangerous collision threat at any time. Due to their size and proximity, near-Earth objects are also more easily accessible for spacecraft from Earth and are important for future scientific investigation and commercial development. Some near-Earth asteroids can be reached with a much smaller change in velocity than the moon.
NASA has a Near-Earth Object Program Office in Pasadena, California. Their prime duties are to track objects, discover knew objects, and calculate statistics of an impact.
They are more commonly known as Space watch. You may be shocked to know that as of today, 5508 Near-Earth objects have been discovered. 742 of these monsters are asteroids with a diameter of approximately 1 kilometer or larger. Also, 945 of these possible hazards have been classifies as Potentially Hazardous Asteroids.
The definition of a Potentially Hazardous Asteroids, is currently defined based on parameters that measure the asteroid's potential to make threatening close approaches to the Earth. Scientists are studying fallen objects that already hit the earth. By studying the chemicals and matter near Earth-objects are made of, they can predict who their parents
may be. This is vital information on how to best stop an Asteroid or Meteor from impacting our planet. If the impact is inevitable, they may at least know the best approach to minimize the damage.
The damage to Earth is unpredictable, as they depend on the velocity, speed of impact, gasses, radiation, how many pieces, and does it strike land or water? We could have orbit changes, earthquakes, tsunamis, clouded atmosphere, fires, on a global scale epidemic? If a Potentially Hazardous object hit's a nearby planet with such destructive forces, we also risk a change in orbit as well. It is a fact that it will destroy all humanity, if the asteroid is at least 1 km (0.6 miles) in diameter.
Most people feel that up to date, the government is not doing enough to fund researches in this area. We are not as prepared as we should be. There are more life threatening acts to humanity from outer space then there are here on earth. Some of these other threats are
solar flares, supernovae, black hole explosions or mergers, gamma-ray bursts, galactic center outbursts, and super volcanoes.
