An asteroid has been defined as a body that is smaller than a planet but larger than a meteoroid. An asteroid is in orbit around the sun just like all the other planets and they are found in the inner solar system. They are different from a comet in that a comet produces a visible coma while an asteroid doesnt. (Lewis 2000). It has been predicted time and time again that an asteroid will collide with the earth just as it happened during the time of the dinosaurs that consequently wiped out the giant lizards. The last asteroid to hit earth, 1908 Tunguska event, wiped out almost 2000 km squares of the Siberian forest and that is considered to be a small asteroid (Lewis 2000).
Today the issue has been discussed on the highest panel available, the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Scientists from all over the world have in more than one occasion come together to share ideas and data as to whether the earth is in danger of another catastrophic event such as the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. Such forums also act as fund raisers for the same asteroid projects on earth. This shows the commitment of the world to wards such matters (Lite and Battaghia, 2008).
The Impact of an asteroid on earth would be tremendous the last great impact wiped almost all life forms on earth. An asteroid with a diameter of more than 3 miles would considerably do so much damage to our planet. To begin with, it would destroy and flatten everything within 1000 miles this means that if it lands on any city in the world to day it will completely destroy everything within 1000 miles from ground zero. This is significant damage. There will be an explosion that will incinerate all life forms within 1000 miles all round. The impact will raise a huge cloud of dust so thick that it will blot out the sun source of life on earth. The cloud will then spread and within days, the earth will be covered in a thick cloud of dust and perpetual darkness (Morrison 1999).
The plant life will be the first to die as they are dependent the most on sunlight, gradually all the other life forms will follow. Man will die due to lack of clean air as the world will be covered with a cloud of dust. We will probably have to go around using gas masks in order to protect our lungs organs from the dust. Eventually due to the ensuing chaos among other things man will also die. The environmental dust cloud might take years to settle down and by the time this happens all life forms but a few will be remaining and struggling to survive (Morrison 1999).
The effect of the impact therefore depends on the size and the energy the asteroid will have at the time of impact. An asteroid that is about 3 miles in diameter as in the case above will have millions of megatons of energy. The atomic bomb that fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki only yielded 50 megatons of energy. So from this one can only imagine the amount of destruction that the smallest impact has on our planet. A crater that was discovered in South America stands as proof of the power of an asteroid or a meteoroid has. The crater is about 180 kilometers in diameter and it has been linked with the extinction of the dinosaurs millions of years ago. From the last impact, it took the earth 30 million years to recover. That is the power of such an impact (Lite and Battaghia 2008).
How bad the impact will be is also dependent on the density and the composition of the asteroid. Is it made up of an alloy of metals or is it made up of rocks. The impact will also depend on the possibility of a split or break up into many pieces due to the friction that it will meet as it enters the earths atmosphere. The possibility of it splitting into many other pieces has some benefits and dad effects. The breaking into smaller pieces will significantly reduce the impact of the asteroid therefore reducing the impact of the larger asteroid and increase the chances of earth surviving the event with only small damages here and there. The splitting of the asteroid will also pose another problem. It will mean a number of targets all over the earth and therefore still a significant damage to the earth. It breaking up means that the pieces will land on lets say a number of cities and therefore there still will be a mass death and extinction (Lewis 2000).
In conclusion, an asteroid is a heavenly body that possesses a mighty power that might change the cause of the earth. History has recorded the power and catastrophe that such a body possesses. Fortunately research and history have shown that such events occur once in a very long time in some cases it occurs once in several millennias. The odds are therefore good that such an event will not occur during our life time. Still advances in this field of astronomy are welcomed, for we never know when we may be in danger.
Today the issue has been discussed on the highest panel available, the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Scientists from all over the world have in more than one occasion come together to share ideas and data as to whether the earth is in danger of another catastrophic event such as the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. Such forums also act as fund raisers for the same asteroid projects on earth. This shows the commitment of the world to wards such matters (Lite and Battaghia, 2008).
The Impact of an asteroid on earth would be tremendous the last great impact wiped almost all life forms on earth. An asteroid with a diameter of more than 3 miles would considerably do so much damage to our planet. To begin with, it would destroy and flatten everything within 1000 miles this means that if it lands on any city in the world to day it will completely destroy everything within 1000 miles from ground zero. This is significant damage. There will be an explosion that will incinerate all life forms within 1000 miles all round. The impact will raise a huge cloud of dust so thick that it will blot out the sun source of life on earth. The cloud will then spread and within days, the earth will be covered in a thick cloud of dust and perpetual darkness (Morrison 1999).
The plant life will be the first to die as they are dependent the most on sunlight, gradually all the other life forms will follow. Man will die due to lack of clean air as the world will be covered with a cloud of dust. We will probably have to go around using gas masks in order to protect our lungs organs from the dust. Eventually due to the ensuing chaos among other things man will also die. The environmental dust cloud might take years to settle down and by the time this happens all life forms but a few will be remaining and struggling to survive (Morrison 1999).
The effect of the impact therefore depends on the size and the energy the asteroid will have at the time of impact. An asteroid that is about 3 miles in diameter as in the case above will have millions of megatons of energy. The atomic bomb that fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki only yielded 50 megatons of energy. So from this one can only imagine the amount of destruction that the smallest impact has on our planet. A crater that was discovered in South America stands as proof of the power of an asteroid or a meteoroid has. The crater is about 180 kilometers in diameter and it has been linked with the extinction of the dinosaurs millions of years ago. From the last impact, it took the earth 30 million years to recover. That is the power of such an impact (Lite and Battaghia 2008).
How bad the impact will be is also dependent on the density and the composition of the asteroid. Is it made up of an alloy of metals or is it made up of rocks. The impact will also depend on the possibility of a split or break up into many pieces due to the friction that it will meet as it enters the earths atmosphere. The possibility of it splitting into many other pieces has some benefits and dad effects. The breaking into smaller pieces will significantly reduce the impact of the asteroid therefore reducing the impact of the larger asteroid and increase the chances of earth surviving the event with only small damages here and there. The splitting of the asteroid will also pose another problem. It will mean a number of targets all over the earth and therefore still a significant damage to the earth. It breaking up means that the pieces will land on lets say a number of cities and therefore there still will be a mass death and extinction (Lewis 2000).
In conclusion, an asteroid is a heavenly body that possesses a mighty power that might change the cause of the earth. History has recorded the power and catastrophe that such a body possesses. Fortunately research and history have shown that such events occur once in a very long time in some cases it occurs once in several millennias. The odds are therefore good that such an event will not occur during our life time. Still advances in this field of astronomy are welcomed, for we never know when we may be in danger.
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