Asteroid Threats How Close Are We to a Cosmic Col: How Often Do Asteroids Hit Earth?

This video explores the history and impact of asteroids hitting Earth. It covers how often meteoroids strike, famous events like the Chelyabinsk meteor and Tunguska explosion, and the potential dangers of larger asteroids. It also explains how astronomers track near-Earth objects to predict and prevent catastrophic impacts, highlighting humanity’s ongoing efforts to protect the planet.

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00:00:00 – 00:00:38
Earth is frequently hit by meteoroids, mostly small and unnoticed due to erosion and atmosphere burning most up.

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Asteroids around 4–7 meters hit yearly and every 5 years, causing explosions similar to atomic bombs but usually go unnoticed.

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The 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor exploded 30 km above Russia, damaging buildings and injuring people. Another asteroid passed close hours later.

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Near misses have been dramatic, including a 1989 asteroid that narrowly missed Earth and the 1908 Tunguska event that flattened millions of trees.

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Large impacts (1 km+) happen every hundreds of thousands of years, with even bigger ones rarer but catastrophic, like the one that ended the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

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Astronomers have found ~14,000 near-Earth objects; about 1,651 are potentially hazardous. Most large asteroids are tracked, but some remain untracked.

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Risk of catastrophic impact soon is extremely low; odds of hitting Earth are very small over the next centuries to centuries.

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Stars passing near the solar system millions of years from now could disturb asteroids, sending some toward Earth.

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Earth will be hit again eventually; most impacts will be minor, but civilization-threatening events, though rare, are possible. Modern tracking and deflection efforts help prepare us.

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Studying asteroids is crucial to protect Earth and appreciate life’s fragility and resilience, reminding us to keep watching the skies.