Asteroids Essay Example
Do you know what the most commonly believed theory of how the human race will get wiped out is? It is known to be uncharted and potentially disastrous. It is also thought to be that this particular event had made the dinosaurs go extinct. The catastrophe of space, asteroids. Falling asteroids are such a dangerous and deadly event that could ever happen to Earth. But have you ever wondered where all of these rocks come from, what they are made of, and most importantly why they fall to Earth? You will find out after reading this writing, starting with what asteroids are made of.
There are mainly 3 types of asteroids: the C-type (chondrite), S-types ("stony"), and M-types (metallic). According to NASA, the most common type of asteroids are C-type which are composed of clay and silicate rocks and are dark in appearance (NASA Solar System Exploration). NASA Solar System Exploration also states, “The S-types are made up of silicate materials and nickel-iron and the M-types are made up of metal (nickel-iron)” (NASA Solar System Exploration). The composition of the asteroids differs by how far away they were from the sun when they formed. For example, “Some experienced high temperatures after they formed and partly melted, with iron sinking to the center and forcing basaltic (volcanic) lava to the surface” (NASA Solar System Exploration). Also, moons, rings, tails, and even water gullies can be found in asteroids (Susheela).
Now that you know what they are made of, let's get into the specifics of when they were found first, where they actually come from, and where they are now. In the year 1801, the first asteroid was found by an Italian priest and astronomer, Giuseppe Piazzi while making a star map (StarStuff). A year after it was found, a person named William Herschel named it “asteroids” which means star-shaped or star-like because when it was found, they looked like stars (Harvey and Choi). Furthermore, in the video, “Where Did Asteroids Come From,” StarStuff noted, “Asteroids are the leftover bits and pieces from the formation of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago that didn’t form into a planet” (StarStuff). This statement tells us that asteroids are the rocks that could have been planets but failed, answering our question of where these rocks come from. In addition, Lynch in the article “Near-Earth Asteroids” emphasizes, “Most asteroids orbit the Sun in nearly circular paths lying between Mars and Jupiter. Comets originate in the outer fringes of the solar system, well beyond Pluto . . . But a few have been nudged from their originally circular orbits by a close encounter with Jupiter or a collision with other asteroids” (Lynch). The author also states that, “Most asteroids and comets are not a big threat to Earth because they are very far away. Even if they do enter the Earth, most of the asteroids are small or lands on water”, answering both where they are now and what happens if they come to Earth (Lynch). But what if the biggest asteroids in history hit Earth? Do you think our world will end? You are about to find out!
Asteroids can differ in size, shape, and speed. About a hundred tons of 1 m size asteroids are in Earth’s orbits every day in the forms of small grains of sand and stone and about 30 asteroids, which is about 2000 Tons of rocks fly to Earth every year (Ridddle). Surprised? Well, this is just the beginning. 20 m asteroids have twice in a 100 years chance to fall on Earth. Riddle provides, “Once in a thousand years, objects like the Tunguska meteorite which was about 75 m or 246 feet in size reach the Earth’s surface” (Ridddle). Asteroids that are bigger than 100 m land on Earth once in a few thousand years. Asteroids with the size of Kilometers or miles land on Earth once in 100 million years which “Can cause global catastrophes in the existence of species' (Ridddle). It doesn’t sound that crazy when you only hear the measurements but here is a simple comparison. If an asteroid of a size of a one-story house hits Earth, its destruction would be similar to the Hiroshima bomb. Every concrete building in 800 m radius or every wood in 2.4 km in radius would be destroyed (Ridddle). This is deadly enough but scientists have discovered an asteroid called 1997xf11, which is estimated between 700m~1400m, that will pass Earth in the year 2028 with a distance of 930,000 km from Earth. But let’s say this asteroid falls to Earth, then the power of this asteroid can cause is 50 million times bigger than the bomb detonated in Hiroshima (everything in the radius of 160 km to 320 km which is about half of Seoul will perish) (Ridddle). And even if you manage to survive the fall, the explosion will create dust clouds that would block the sunlight so you will die anyway (Ridddle). Then you might ask, “Why can’t they just shoot it down?” Well, Ridddle tells us that even the big asteroids are flat, not shiny, and are high in speed causing them to be hard to spot (Ridddle). Terrified?
It is true that the previous paragraph is full of unpleasant information like the fact that we will die if there is an asteroid falling to Earth that is a km in size but they can tell us this: “we should be able to have ways to prevent asteroids.” In fact, we cannot perfectly prevent asteroids, but scientists are studying and technology is constantly growing which can allow us to prevent disasters like falling asteroids. And in order for our future to be wonderful, we should start learning about our threats and the possible ways for our civilizations to collapse. Asteroids are scary, but we can fight over them! Or maybe all of us will die :).
