Asteroids are small rocky bodies that usually sit in the inner Solar System, orbiting the sun. There are millions of them flying around space and their collisions – known as impact events – have played a significant role in shaping many planets. However, they have also played a devastating role in the Earth’s history and it is believed that one may have wiped out the dinosaurs.
Amazon Prime’s “Spacefiles” series revealed why history threatens to repeat itself.
The 2004 series detailed: “The asteroid belt is an array of potential projectiles.
“Occasionally on the belt there are collisions and some of the resulting fragments can be ejected into orbits that carry them closer to Mars.
“Then in repeated passes of Mars an asteroid my be nudged into a new path, a trajectory that crosses the orbit of Earth.
65 million years ago, it hit Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and the result was a cosmic winter and mass extinction
Spacefiles
“Such an asteroid has struck before.
“65 million years ago, it hit Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and the result was a cosmic winter and mass extinction.”
A cosmic winter follows the idea that an asteroid could wipe out all forms of life on Earth and plunge the planet into a cold, bitter darkness.
The programme went on to reveal how even a small asteroid can lead to shocking consequences.
The narrator added: “When the skies cleared, two-thirds of all species were gone, including the dinosaurs.
“In false colour, you can see the crater buried beneath forest and ocean.
“The crater is 200km wide, but the asteroid that hit Earth was at most 15km wide.
“A number of similar craters can be seen from space.”
However, there is no need to fear.
It was previously revealed that NASA has a number of plans to deal with a nuisance asteroid, including one sinister “nuclear option”.
The same series added: “if we are vigilant, we may have time to deal with an asteroid.
“One idea is a curved reflector – we could focus the rays of the sun on a small spot and drive the asteroid from harm’s way.
“Another approach could be a little rocket driver attached to the asteroid and moving it to a safer orbit.
“But if time is really short and we could be hit within days, there is the nuclear option.
“A warhead could blast the asteroid [away from Earth].”
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