Early warning systems vs space rocks needed

Scientists are saying asteroid strikes similar to the one that hit Russia early this year may become more frequent than previously thought. As a result, early warning systems must be put in place. In February 2013, an asteroid about 19 meters wide exploded over Russia. It caused “widespread damage and injured more than 1,000 people,” the BBC reported. Having a system that “scans the sky almost continuously and looks for these objects just before they hit the Earth, that probably is something worth doing,” Professor Peter Brown, lead author of the study, was quoted as saying. The risk from asteroids may have been underestimated as their strike rates are estimated to be two to 10 times higher than previously believed.


Read the full story on the BBC.