Scientists Have Found An Asteroid Big Enough To Destroy Earth Heading This Way
Scientists have discovered three massive asteroids headed on a near-Earth trajectory that could one day wipe out the planet.
As if it was a scene out of the Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck blockbuster film Armageddon, it appears that scientists have found an asteroid currently heading to Earth that could actually wipe out the planet as we know it. According to a report by ComicBook.com, the international team currently occupying space at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile have discovered three asteroids classified as Near-Earth that could one day collide with Earth and subsequently obliterate the planet. Currently protected from sight by the sun and its cosmic rays, two of the Near-Earth asteroids measure about one kilometer across, which these scientists have described as “planet killers.”
At this point in time, the team of scientists working at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile do not believe that any of the asteroids discovered are a threat in the immediate future for many of us Earthlings. However, due to the sun’s glare, it is often difficult for researchers to point out how many similar asteroids exist in a given day that could be a planet killer, so to speak. The findings this week in Chile point to the reality that these asteroids do in fact pose a threat at some point to the planet, and their discovery should be taken seriously when taking into account Earth’s and other planets’ orbits.
A similar premise to an asteroid headed for Earth and the idea that many Americans wouldn’t believe in its existence was the overall plot for Adam McKay’s 2021 satirical drama, Don’t Look Up, only in this case it was a comet rather than an asteroid. The film starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence as low-level Michigan State University scientists that happen upon a comet bound for Earth’s atmosphere, although the President of the United States (Meryl Streep) and her cabinet don’t seem to be interested in doing anything about it until its too late. The movie represented many political leanings towards the existence of man-made climate change, noting that even a comet that will soon become a planet killer couldn’t stop many Americans from believing they are about to die.
As for the real asteroid issue currently occupying airspace in our solar system that might actually one day kill everyone on planet Earth, the scientists involved in the ongoing project to research the asteroids have noted that this is the time for them to discover all of the various objects floating around in the universe. NASA confirmed earlier this month that they had achieved success in redirecting a different asteroid in what they referred to as the first-ever Asteroid Redirection Test, accomplishing their goal by hurling a satellite into the asteroid in order to change its overall trajectory. With real science taking control over previously unexplained phenomenon in the dark skies, here’s to hoping that scientists continue to work on solutions to keep us safe in the face of danger from asteroids, comets, meteors and the like for an extended period of time.
