SOME 50,000 mid-sized asteroids are hurtling around the Solar System (Â鶹´«Ã½, 1 February, p 5). This is the estimate that astronomers agreed on at an important conference in Frascati, Italy, earlier in the year. So far, though, astronomers have spotted only some 1700 of these asteroids, any one of which could present a threat to many people here on planet Earth.
When I discussed the conference with Lord Sainsbury, the minister for science and technology, he gave me the gist of the draft recommendations of the scientist delegates at the meeting, who represented 30 nations from the…
