The B612 Foundation is slated to present data from a recent nuclear-weapons test warning satellite that shows more asteroids have hit the earth in the last handful of years than many though, according to The Huffington Post.
The nuclear missile detection system monitors large blasts that occur on earth. The data compiled shows that since 2001, asteroids have caused 26 explosions that have reached the atomic bomb scale.
A statement from Ed Lu, an astronaut working on the project, said, “This data shows that asteroid impacts are NOT rare, but actually 3-10 times more common than we previously thought. The fact that none of these asteroid impacts shown in the video was detected in advance is proof that the only thing preventing a catastrophe from a ‘city-killer’ sized asteroid is blind luck.”
The team working on the project include Lu, and former astronauts Tom Jones and Bill Anders. The team has been working to create a better early-warning system for asteroids. This is known as the Sentinel Infrared Space Telescope. The team hopes that it becomes “the principal means by which nearly all asteroid discoveries will be made.”
The telescope will scan the sky using infrared. This will then help calculate the travel path and velocity of asteroids.
Looking for science jobs? Click here.
