Asteroids
Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and do the exercises.
Preparation
A
In 2010, the planetary defence team at NASA had identified and logged 90 per cent of the asteroids near Earth measuring 1km wide. These 'near-Earth objects', or NEOs, are the size of mountains and include anything within 50 million kilometres of Earth's orbit. With an estimated 50 left to log, NASA says none of the 887 it knows about are a significant danger to the planet.
B
Now NASA is working towards logging some of the smaller asteroids, those measuring 140 metres wide or more. Of the 25,000 estimated asteroids of this size, so far about 8,000 have been logged, leaving 17,000 unaccounted for. Considering that a 19-metre asteroid that exploded above the city of Chelyabinsk in Russia in 2013 injured 1,200 people, these middle-sized asteroids would be a serious danger if they enter Earth's orbit.
C
Whether NASA can find the remaining middle-sized NEOs depends on getting the money to build NEOCam, a 0.5-metre space telescope which would use infrared light to locate asteroids. If it did get the money, it could probably achieve its goal in ten years. Once logged, the planetary defence team would still need to work out how to defend the planet against being hit by the truly worrying asteroids – the PHAs.
D
'Potentially Hazardous Asteroids' are rocks close enough to pass within 7.5 million kilometres of Earth's orbit. NASA has created a map of 1,400 PHAs, none of which are expected to be a threat in the next one hundred years. With technology already available, NASA can track these objects and make predictions about possible impact, at which point two defence solutions could be launched.
E
The first is DART – the Double Asteroid Redirection Test. Plans are scheduled to test DART on the moon of an asteroid called Didymos. 'Didymoon' is 150 metres wide, orbiting its 800-metre mother, and hopefully the impact of DART will knock it out of its orbit enough for Earth-based telescopes to pick up.
F
Another suggested defence against a PHA on course to hit Earth is to blow it up using a nuclear weapon. It may sound like a plot from a film, and it was the subject of the 1998 film Armageddon, but the Hypervelocity Asteroid Mitigation Mission for Emergency Response (HAMMER) is a genuine NASA proposal. The eight-ton rockets would be fired at an approaching asteroid with the hope of bumping it off course. If the asteroid was too close to Earth for this plan to work, the rockets would carry nuclear bombs to blow it up instead.
I will spend all my remaining days with joy and happiness. I know that sooner or later, an asteroid will destroy the Earth.
Frankly, I would panic at first then I would warn my family and loves ones about the asteroid. I mean theres nothing we can do about it , only people from the nasa who has tools and technology to really do something about it. but it theres no hope I guess I'd wait for my destiny and spend the last minutes with my family and friends
I think Diddymoon's orbit is not stable, as it can be knocked by rockets.
If I'd heard an information about an asteroid is so close to hit the world I panic and try to find out how much big it is and how could be affect out planet when it crash our world. I try to get information about how can I save my family from all of the negative impacts of the crash.
What would you do if you heard that an asteroid was near Earth?
First of all, I would call all my family together and went to a safe space. At the same time, I would pay attention to the news from government or expect. Second, I would join the community as a volunteer to help another people .Of course, I believe NASA may death with the asteroid before it hits Earth.
I'll collect all the canned food I can find and get ready to run out to the house's basement, if there will be an asteroids hazard.
Every day there are asteroids near the Earth, and that isn’t a problem. Our atmosphere protects us from asteroids by destroying them when they enter it. If I heard about an asteroid, I probably wouldn’t feel nervous or worried. However, it’s an area that interests me, and I would follow the news about it.
First of all, I would connect to the internet and follow updates from NASA, especially any warnings or details about how large the asteroid is. This would help us understand the potential impact if it were to hit Earth. Staying connected to news from NASA’s planetary defense team would be crucial in this kind of situation. Moreover, I would listen carefully to government instructions, whether we need to stay in our area or evacuate to another safe location, and follow them strictly to stay safe.