This raises a serious question about our long-term planetary defense readiness. If 15,000 asteroids large enough to devastate a city are currently untracked, what does that mean for humanity’s ability to detect and respond to an impact threat in time? Do we have the capabilities to properly mitigate the issue, let alone within a good timeframe? With improved telescope technology like the upcoming Vera Rubin Observatory coming online, how quickly could we realistically close this detection gap — and should planetary defense funding be treated as a global priority on par with climate change?
Fancy_Exchange_9821 on
Pretty low chances of 100m impacts over average human lifetimes, but DARTs massive success showed we can easily deal with under 1km threats given enough time
It’s most likely been thousands of years since the last city killer impactor
bytemage on
That is “near” in astronomical terms. There is a reason we say astronomical for something unfathomably huge.
Timmaigh on
How do they know the number of undetected asteroids, if they are not detecting them?
Elegant_Vehicle_1682 on
We get hit and the universe carries on without the toxic human race!!! Phew!!!
hairyscotsman2 on
Shh. We’re too busy as a species pointing nuclear weapons at each other.
6 Comments
This raises a serious question about our long-term planetary defense readiness. If 15,000 asteroids large enough to devastate a city are currently untracked, what does that mean for humanity’s ability to detect and respond to an impact threat in time? Do we have the capabilities to properly mitigate the issue, let alone within a good timeframe? With improved telescope technology like the upcoming Vera Rubin Observatory coming online, how quickly could we realistically close this detection gap — and should planetary defense funding be treated as a global priority on par with climate change?
Pretty low chances of 100m impacts over average human lifetimes, but DARTs massive success showed we can easily deal with under 1km threats given enough time
It’s most likely been thousands of years since the last city killer impactor
That is “near” in astronomical terms. There is a reason we say astronomical for something unfathomably huge.
How do they know the number of undetected asteroids, if they are not detecting them?
We get hit and the universe carries on without the toxic human race!!! Phew!!!
Shh. We’re too busy as a species pointing nuclear weapons at each other.