It is FAR easier to change the direction of an asteroid than to blow it up. All that is needed to accomplish the former is to nudge the asteroid a little off its collision course with Earth, and this could be done with some small explosions on the side of that asteroid. Blowing up an asteroid would be a complete waste of energy.
The size, speed, location and angle of impact of the object with the Earth. A major factor would be if the impact is on water or land.
An asteroid is space debris made up of rock and metal and can range drastically in size. When an asteroid makes a collision course for Earth, it is called a meteor. A meteor that manages to hit the Earth is called a meteorite.
If an asteroid were to hit Earth, it could do HUGE damage. It was the changes to Earth after an asteroid hit that killed off the dinosaurs. But if we knew about an asteroid heading our way long enough ahead of time, maybe we could change it's course enough to make it miss, and save millions of lives.
When an asteroid or comet crosses Earth's orbital path but doesn't collide with it, it's often due to the object passing through a different point in space at a different time than Earth. Additionally, the vast majority of space around Earth is empty, so the chances of a direct collision are very low. Astronomers track these objects closely to assess any potential collision risk.
From the sun it goes Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, ASTEROID belt, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto (although no longer classed as a planet). So the earth is inside the orbit of the asteroid belt.
There are currently no known asteroids on a collision course with Earth in 2022.
Yes, if the asteroid is captured by the Earth's gravitational pull.
There is no way to avoid an impending collision.
The size, speed, location and angle of impact of the object with the Earth. A major factor would be if the impact is on water or land.
The Gr8 JAke
They may happen to cross Earth's orbit, and just crash into it. The gravity of the planets can also help increase the likelihood of a collision.
An asteroid to happen? Asteroid cannot 'happen'. It can collide with earth, or any other object with mass, though.
An asteroid is space debris made up of rock and metal and can range drastically in size. When an asteroid makes a collision course for Earth, it is called a meteor. A meteor that manages to hit the Earth is called a meteorite.
There is one known asteroid which has some slight probability of colliding with the Earth. (There are no doubt many things on a collision course with Earth of which we are blissfully unaware.) This asteroid is called Apophis. It is a space rock which will pass close to Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029. Apophis will not hit the Earth on that pass, but the worry is that there will be some gravitational perturbation that might cause Apophis to come closer than expected on Friday, April 13, 2037. Current calculations indicate that the chance of a collision is about one chance in 40,000. There are other rocks in space that will occasionally come close. Someday, one of them will hit us. We don't know when.
You cannot "avoid" a collision; if the asteroid is headed this way, it will hit. They aren't steerable. Give us another 50 years or so, and perhaps we would be able to prevent it.
No. While an impact from a large asteroid could cause a mass extinction event, no asteroid is large enough to destroy Earth. Collisions on the scale of the one that caused the last mass extinction occur roughly once every 100 million years. No known asteroids are on a collision course with Earth any time in the next 100 years.
Because it was headed towards earth. It was bound to happen.