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NASA: 15K 'City-Killer' Asteroids Near Earth Unaccounted For
NASA estimates about 15,000 medium-sized asteroids remain undetected due to observational blind spots and lack of ready defense, with only 40% tracked so far.
- On Feb. 16, NASA acting Planetary Defense Officer Kelly Fast warned that roughly 15,000 near-Earth objects measuring at least 140 metres remain undiscovered, with only 40% of the detection goal reached.
- Many near-Earth asteroids orbit inside Earth's path and hide in the Sun's glare, while dark, carbon-rich asteroids reflect little sunlight, limiting ground-based observatories to short twilight windows.
- A 140-metre strike carries impact energy roughly 300 million tons of TNT, while Asteroid YR4 passed on December 25, 2024 and was seen a week later, briefly raising a 4% collision risk for 2032.
- NASA warned Earth cannot defend itself against mid-sized rocks about 140 metres in diameter, with experts saying DART remains a one-off demonstration lacking immediate launch options or sustained investment, Kelly Fast said.
- The Near-Earth Object Surveyor mission is expected to launch next year with infrared detection capability to find bright and dark asteroids and help NASA track more than 90% of NEOs ≥140m.
22 Articles
22 Articles
NASA scientist warns there’s no way to stop thousands of city-killing asteroids from striking Earth: ‘It keeps me up at night’
Planetary defense expert Kelly Fast is warning that humanity is defenseless against up to 15,000 undetected, near Earth asteroids that have the potential to take out a city.
Nasa admits Earth is DEFENCELESS against 'city-killer' asteroids
Nasa officials have issued a stark warning that Earth currently has no means of defending itself against approximately 15,000 undetected asteroids capable of destroying entire cities.Dr Kelly Fast, Nasa's Planetary Defense Officer, revealed at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Phoenix that these medium-sized meteors, measuring at least 140 metres across, represent the greatest threat to our planet.She said: "W…
Earth's Big Threat After 3I/ATLAS? NASA Warns 15,000 'City-Killer' Asteroids Still Undetected in 'Blind Spot' Space
The name 3I/ATLAS might be the sort of designation that briefly lights up science feeds, but the quieter fear NASA officials are trying to drag into the open is far less cinematic: the rocks we have not found, drifting through a stubborn 'blind spot' where our telescopes struggle to look. What makes it unsettling is not the Hollywood-sized apocalypse, but the more plausible, more political nightmare of a regional strike catastrophic for a city, …
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