We all like to believe that we live in a safe world. We like to believe that technology is so evolved and that those smart guys from NASA know precisely what to do in case an asteroid approaches us. But is that really the case?
What’s for sure is that asteroids have collided with Earth in the past. Probably the most devastating one is the Chicxulub impactor that made dinosaurs disappear from the face of the Earth once and for all. Those huge beasts inhabited our planet for 165 million years. Who knows how advanced humanity would be if it will exist for 165 million years. Scientists are pretty sure that the dinosaurs lived for so long without inventing the internet.
NASA planetary defense expert sheds light
Dr. Kelly Fast, who is a planetary defense expert of NASA, brings a shocking response to the question “Will an asteroid ever hit Earth?”. You can watch her response below, in a video posted by NASA itself:
Therefore, if the misanthrope in you is waiting for the end of the world, you’ll most likely get tired of it. An asteroid capable of destroying our civilization won’t pay us a visit in the near future, as such space rocks are very rare. It can take even millions of years for Earth to deal with an asteroid capable of affecting the surface, as Dr. Fast reveals.
The Chicxulub impactor measured somewhere between 10 and 15 kilometers wide, and after the impact, it left behind a crater measuring over 25,000 square kilometers. The crater is located underneath the Yucatan Peninsula from Mexico. It was unclear for long if the Chicxulub impactor was an asteroid or a comet, but recent studies show that it was an asteroid. Such a space rock would surely be able to wipe out humanity, and it will not care one bit about our will.
