The European Space Agency added 864 near-Earth asteroids on its Risk List. This is a catalog of space rocks that has a slim chance of striking the planet.
The ESA knows that more than 600,000 asteroids are in our solar system. Of all these, about 20,000 are trapped within the solar system.
These are the so-called “Near-Earth Objects,” and they are usually small-to-medium-sized rocks. Also, past incidents prove that they can be pretty dangerous.
864 asteroids are classed as risky
It’s been reported that ESA considers at least 864 of these asteroids as potential risks.
The agency stated the following: “These asteroids sometimes reach the ground, but even those that disintegrate in Earth’s atmosphere – like the one that caused the Chelyabinsk event in 2013 – can create explosive airbursts, with resulting shockwaves that may shatter glass, damage buildings and injure anyone who happens to be nearby.”
More than that, “The term ‘Near-Earth Object’ basically refers to any natural object, like an asteroid, whose orbit brings it close to Earth.”
Since March 2019, we knew of more than 600,000 asteroids in our Solar System.
“Of these, around 20,000 are near-Earth objects, 800 of which are in ESA’s risk list, meaning that they merit close follow-up observations.”
The dinosaur apocalypse
Speaking about asteroids, there’s a video that’s been unveiled which shows the terrifying moment when an asteroid hit Earth about 66 million years ago.
The dinosaurs were hit by mass destruction back then as you already know.
All dinosaurs have been wiped out from the face of the planet when an asteroid it’s believed to have hit Earth.
The narrator said in the video that “Smaller animals take shelter underground, meanwhile, an ejector cloud approaches at 16,000 km per hour, baking the Earth with unrelenting heat. Millions of volts of static electricity charge the cloud like a giant battery, creating a vast electrical storm.”
Find out more detrails in our previous article.
I have been blogging and posting articles for over eight years, but my passion for writing dates back in 2000. I am especially enthusiastic about technology, science, and health-related issues. When I’m not researching and writing the latest news, I’m either watching sci-fi and horror movies or checking out places worth visiting and building deep memories for later in life. I believe in empathy and continually improving myself.