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Small asteroids can be deflected by explosives (ordinary or nuclear) if they are far enough away. The problem is getting the explosives there. Asteroids travel at orbital speeds of thousands of kilometers an hour, and a large rocket would be required to reach the asteroid and match its speed, so that it could rendezvous and detonate. Hitting an asteroid with a head-on shot would be extremely difficult if not impossible, and could result in a shower of smaller pieces hitting the Earth.

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What is the probability of an asteroid hitting earth?

1 percent change out of 100


Can the navy stop the asteroid that will hit in 2036?

Apophis is an 885 foot diameter asteroid that will pass by Earth on April 13, 2036. The odds of it hitting the Earth are calculated to be 1 in 48,000. Keep in mind that the asteroid that crashed into Chicxulub, Mexico wiping out the dinosaurs was 6 miles wide,nearly 36 times larger.


Should the public be worried about an asteroid hitting the earth?

No. The chances of an asteroid large enough to cause significant damage is very low.


What is an asteroid if it leaves its orbit?

An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the sun; if it leaves its orbit, it can potentially enter the Earth's atmosphere, becoming a meteor and potentially hitting the Earth's surface as a meteorite.


What effect did the asteroid hitting earth have on it?

It all depends on the size of the asteroid and the speed. When an asteroid about 6 miles in diameter slammed into the Gulf of Mexico 65 million years ago, it killed off every large lifeform on Earth, including all of the dinosaurs.


What effect did the asteroid have on hitting the earth?

It all depends on the size of the asteroid and the speed. When an asteroid about 6 miles in diameter slammed into the Gulf of Mexico 65 million years ago, it killed off every large lifeform on Earth, including all of the dinosaurs.


What is the percentage of an asteroid hitting earth in the next 100 years?

An asteroid or meteor that would cause climatic change, about 1 in 600,000 to 1 in 10,000,000.


What does the Earth's magnetic field stop from hitting the Earth's surface?

Solar Winds


What could have caused the dinosaurs to go extinct?

an asteroid hitting the earth, drought, volcanoes, disease, or rising sea levels


How long before the metor as big as Texas will hit earth?

There are no known asteroids the size of Texas that have even the slightest chance of hitting Earth. The only known Texas-sized asteroid is Ceres, which has a stable orbit in the asteroid belt and could never hit Earth.


Can an asteroid destroy the earth?

No, an asteroid cannot destroy earth, but a large enough asteroid can have devastating effects on the life on Earth


Why moon not orbit sun?

because the moon is the result of an asteroid hitting the earth 4 billion years ago. a chunk of the earth came off and started orbiting the earth because it was closer to the earth than the sun