Today is UN Asteroid Day, the annual event held to bring people together to learn about these astronomical objects.
One of its goals is to warn against complacency about a very real threat to life on Earth.
Why asteroids – and why now?
First discovered by astronomers more than 200 years ago, asteroids are chunks of debris left over from the formation of the Solar System about 4.5 billion years ago.
Most orbit between Mars and Jupiter, but some end up on a collision course with the Earth. And sometimes they strike with devastating violence.
On this day in 1908, one entered the atmosphere over Siberia and blew apart with the energy of 1,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs.
Known as the Tunguska Event, the explosion was heard farther than 800 kilometres away, and only its remoteness prevented huge loss of life.
Astronomers caution that it is only a matter of time before catastrophe strikes.
Their warnings were underlined in February 2013 when a fragment of asteroid exploded over Chelyabinsk central Russia with the violence of 30 atomic bombs, injuring more than 1,600 people.
How big a threat are they ?
Astronomers have identified more than 2,000 potentially hazardous asteroids, which make close approaches to the Earth and are large enough to cause major damage.
More than 150 are at least 1km across – large enough to devastate an entire country.
Most are on well-determined orbits and pose no risk in the foreseeable future.
But far smaller ones are capable of inflicting damage and many are only detectable just before impact, giving minimal warning.
In April, a five-metre wide asteroid named 2020 HS7 was spotted just hours before it came within 2,000km of an orbiting satellite – a cosmic hair’s breadth.
What is being done to protect the Earth ?
A global network of telescopes keeps watch for asteroids making a close approach to the Earth.
But conventional telescopes typically have to trade off their power to spot faint objects with the ability to cover a large area of the sky.
Specialist telescopes capable of doing both are now coming online.
They include Nasa's Asteroid Terrestrial Impact Last Alert System, based in Hawaii. This can scan the entire sky every 48 hours, and detect small asteroids at huge distances.
Last year, it detected a four-metre wide chunk of rock even before it passed the Moon. The object later crashed into the Caribbean near Puerto Rico.
Later this summer, the far more powerful Vera C Rubin Observatory will begin operations in Chile.
Its colossal 8.4-metre mirror will scan the entire sky every few nights, looking for incoming asteroids.
What could we do to stop a huge impact ?
The most obvious solution would be to attack the asteroid with nuclear weapons.
But that would almost certainly prove disastrous, turning one huge rock into a vast swarm of debris that would still crash into the Earth.
The best approach is to keep the asteroid intact and gently nudge it slightly off course. This requires much less energy and gives a far more predictable outcome.
It’s a strategy now being investigated by Nasa and the European Space Agency.
In 2022, the 160-metre wide asteroid Dimorphos will be the target of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, with Nasa smashing a 500 kilogram probe into the object and watching how it responds.
Something far more powerful would be needed to push a big asteroid off course. And then a very significant problem rears its head.
Since the retirement of the Saturn V booster that sent astronauts to the Moon 50 years ago, no nation has built a rocket that is up to the job, although China is working on one.
Is there anything good about asteroids ?
Once dismissed as the "vermin of the skies", asteroids are now thought to harbour colossal reserves of gold, platinum and other precious metals worth $700 billion billion, some estimates claim.
This has sparked commercial interest in “space mining”, with robots extracting the metals from the asteroids and shipping them back to Earth.
The commercial viability of such operations should become clearer in the next few years after a Nasa mission set for launch in 2022.
The target is Psyche, an asteroid thought to be made almost entirely of metals.
So we have nothing to fear in the meantime?
Most astronomers would put the risk of a major asteroid strike well below that of another virus pandemic.
But the risk is not zero: World Asteroid Day coincides with the Earth passing through the region of space that once harboured the Tunguska object.
It is just possible that something else is lurking there now, ready to remind us of the cosmic threat that stalks our planet.
Robert Matthews is visiting professor of science at Aston University, Birmingham, UK
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
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The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,470,000 (est)
Engine 6.9-litre twin-turbo W12
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 626bhp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 900Nm @ 1,350rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.0L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE squad
Ali Kashief, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdelrahman, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Mohmmed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammad Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Eisa, Mohammed Shakir, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Adel Al Hosani, Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah), Waleed Abbas, Ismail Al Hammadi, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli Dubai) Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Mahrami (Baniyas)
'HIJRAH%3A%20IN%20THE%20FOOTSTEPS%20OF%20THE%20PROPHET'
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
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The biog
Name: Maitha Qambar
Age: 24
Emirate: Abu Dhabi
Education: Master’s Degree
Favourite hobby: Reading
She says: “Everyone has a purpose in life and everyone learns from their experiences”
'Cheb%20Khaled'
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Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
Results:
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m | Winner: Eghel De Pine, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m | Winner: AF Sheaar, Szczepan Mazur, Saeed Al Shamsi
6pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (PA) Group 3 Dh500,000 1,600m | Winner: RB Torch, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (TB) Listed Dh380,000 1,600m | Winner: Forjatt, Chris Hayes, Nicholas Bachalard
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup for Private Owners Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 1,400m | Winner: Hawafez, Connor Beasley, Ridha ben Attia
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 80,000 1,600m | Winner: Qader, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roaulle
PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP
Men’s:
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)
Women's:
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Laura Massaro (ENG)
Joelle King (NZE)
Camille Serme (FRA)
Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
FIGHT CARD
1. Featherweight 66kg
Ben Lucas (AUS) v Ibrahim Kendil (EGY)
2. Lightweight 70kg
Mohammed Kareem Aljnan (SYR) v Alphonse Besala (CMR)
3. Welterweight 77kg
Marcos Costa (BRA) v Abdelhakim Wahid (MAR)
4. Lightweight 70kg
Omar Ramadan (EGY) v Abdimitalipov Atabek (KGZ)
5. Featherweight 66kg
Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Kagimu Kigga (UGA)
6. Catchweight 85kg
Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) v Iuri Fraga (BRA)
7. Featherweight 66kg
Yousef Al Husani (UAE) v Mohamed Allam (EGY)
8. Catchweight 73kg
Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Abdipatta Abdizhali (KGZ)
9. Featherweight 66kg
Jaures Dea (CMR) v Andre Pinheiro (BRA)
10. Catchweight 90kg
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
MATCH INFO
Liverpool v Manchester City, Sunday, 8.30pm UAE
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
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