That is a real climate change and life on earth as we know it risk! Earth has been lucky that impacts by asteroids are so rare. However, how many more such asteroids are out there we have not yet discovered?
"... So, since the turn of the century astronomers have ramped up efforts to catalog objects whose orbits bring them close to Earth. These near-Earth asteroids are officially defined as those that come within about 45 million km (28 million miles) of our planet’s orbital path around the Sun. That’s about 117 times the distance to the Moon.
A range of observatories are keeping watch, and discoveries are gathered and tracked by ESA’s Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre (NEOCC) and NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). And in early October, this list finally clocked the 30,000 object mark. ...
Among the 400 newcomers that tipped the tally over the line, 50 were estimated to measure more than 140 m (460 ft) wide. ...
Most of the time, further observations rule out any chance of impact in the coming decades. However, there are currently 1,426 asteroids with a “non-zero” chance of impact, which are being carefully studied as part of the NEOCC’s Risk List. ..."
Among the 400 newcomers that tipped the tally over the line, 50 were estimated to measure more than 140 m (460 ft) wide. ...
Most of the time, further observations rule out any chance of impact in the coming decades. However, there are currently 1,426 asteroids with a “non-zero” chance of impact, which are being carefully studied as part of the NEOCC’s Risk List. ..."
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