asteroid A rocky object in orbit around the sun. Most orbit in a region that falls between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers refer to this region as the asteroid belt. meteor a small body of matter from outer space that enters the earth's atmosphere, becoming incandescent as a result of friction and appearing as a streak of light. Do you think we need an alarm system to protect us from stray meteors or asteroids that get to close to Earth? If you do, you aren't alone. The term “killer asteroid” might bring to mind the kind of massive space rock that wiped out the dinosaurs millions of years ago. But such a large object — around 3 to 8 miles across — might hit Earth only once every few hundred million years. Smaller space objects hit more often. And even these minis can be dangerous. An asteroid just 50 yards wide could destroy a city. But the first in a new two-telescope system in Hawaii has just begun scanning the skies for such “city-killers.” And what it finds might give people a life-saving warning of their approach. Consider the Chelyabinsk meteor that exploded over Russia in 2013. The rock was only about 17 meters (56 feet) across. But it damaged buildings over a broad area and injured more than 1,000 people. A new Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System — or ATLAS — is designed to spot these smaller asteroids before they strike. This kind of “asteroid alarm” could give people a few days’ warning to prepare or evacuate the cities in a space rock’s flight path. In most cases, “the things that hit us are small,” says Nick Moskovitz. He’s an astronomer and asteroid researcher at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz. “The chance of us getting hit by something the size of a dinosaur-killer are so small, we’d have tons of advance notice,” he says. It’s the little rocks that are usually the surprises. There are already powerful telescopes searching for asteroids. What makes ATLAS unique is that it will scan the entire sky several times per night. Other surveys make only about one scan per week. I think ATLAS is an awesome idea, but what about nights like this when there is a meteor shower? Would it be able to tell us how close the meteors will be falling into our atmosphere? During the day would I get an alert on my phone telling me to warn everyone and hide under a desk?
I love the idea of ATLAS, I'm excited to see how it will affect us in the future. Will it become a part of fire, earthquake and disaster drills at school?
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Mrs. TaylorI love science! Everything about the world is interesting and never boring. I love to study plants, animals, insects, and people. My favorite subjects are my students who are the most unique organisms on the planet! Categories |