The next asteroid of substantial size to potentially hit Earth is asteroid 2005 ED224. It released the equivalent of 30 Hiroshima bombs worth of energy, injured over 1,100 people and caused US$33 million in damage. In 2013, an asteroid only 65 feet (20 meters) across burst in the atmosphere 20 miles (32 km) above Chelyabinsk, Russia. It leveled more than 80 million trees over 830 square miles (2,100 square km). In 1908, an approximately 164-foot (50-meter) celestial body exploded over the Tunguska river in Siberia. It wiped out most plant and animal species on Earth, including the dinosaurs.īut smaller objects can also cause significant damage. The most famous and destructive impact took place 65 million years ago when a 6-mile (10-km) diameter asteroid crashed into what is now the Yucatán Peninsula. Larger objects – 0.6 miles (1 km) or more – could have global effects and even cause mass extinctions. If a celestial body of this size crashed into Earth, it could destroy an entire city and cause extreme regional devastation. Near-Earth objects include asteroids and comets whose orbits will bring them within 120 million miles (193 million kilometers) of the Sun.Īstronomers consider a near-Earth object a threat if it will come within 4.6 million miles (7.4 million km) of the planet and is at least 460 feet (140 meters) in diameter.
Millions of objects of various sizes orbit the Sun.
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