Âé¶¹´«Ã½

Asteroid alert

17 November 2001

We are only one-third as likely to be wiped out by an asteroid as was
thought. Astronomers now say the chances of global catastrophe are 1 in 5000
over the next century rather than the previous estimate of 1 in 1500. Zeljko
Ivezic of Princeton University and his team looked at data from the Sloan
Digital Survey and found there are 700,000 asteroids bigger than a kilometre
across capable of bringing about Armageddon, fewer than previously supposed.
Compared to earlier impact risk assessments their observations also include many
more asteroids—particularly small, faint ones.

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with Âé¶¹´«Ã½ events and special offers.

Sign up

To continue reading, today with our introductory offers

or

Existing subscribers

Sign in to your account
Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop