Astronomers stress need for characterizing population of nearby potential Earth-impactors
Tuesday, October 15, 2013 - 08:00
in Astronomy & Space
The meteor explosion over Russia in February 2013 raised concerns that even small asteroid impactors may wreak some havoc given our heavily populated cities. A new study by NASA scientists aims to improve our understanding of such asteroids that are lurking in Earth's vicinity. The team, led by Amy Mainzer, noted that only a mere fraction of asteroids comparable in size to the object that exploded over Russia have been discovered, and their physical properties are poorly characterized.