World Asteroid Day 2021: History, Significance, Tunguska event and Key Facts
World Asteroid Day is a global movement to protect our Earth from the impacts of Asteroids. Several events are organized all over the world to educate people about asteroids.
What are Asteroids?
Asteroids are the small rocky body that orbits around the sun. Mostly, they are found between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter but some have more eccentric orbits. So, we can say that asteroids are rocky-metallic objects which range in size from about the size of pebbles to around 600 miles across.
They are so small that they are not considered planets but they orbit the Sun. They are also known as the leftover material of the Solar System. Do you know that several hundred thousand asteroids are known to exist in our Solar System and many are yet to be discovered? Some asteroids are so small that they are difficult to detect.
World Asteroid Day: History
In December 2016, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution A/RES/71/90 and declared 30 June as International Asteroid Day to observe annually the anniversary of the Tunguska impact over Siberia, Russian Federation, on 30 June 1908 at an international level to raise awareness about the hazardous impact of Asteroids.
Let us tell you that the General Assembly’s decision was made on the basis of a proposal made by the Association of Space Explorers, which was endorsed by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).
Asteroid Day was co-founded by astrophysicist and lead guitarist of QUEEN Dr. Brian May together with Danica Remy, President of B612 Foundation, Rusty Schweickart, Apollo 9 Astronaut, and filmmaker Grigg Richter’s, to promote awareness and provide knowledge to the general public about the importance of asteroids in the formation of our universe and the role they play in our solar system today.
What if an asteroid was about to hit Earth?
What is Tunguska Impact?
The anniversary of the Tunguska impact is observed on 30 June which is also known as the Tunguska impact. A large explosion occurred on that day in the sky over the Podkamennaya
Tunguska River in Siberia, Russia. According to NASA, it was estimated that the asteroid entered the atmosphere of the Earth at a speed of about 33,500 miles per hour. The space rock of 220-million-pound heated the air surrounding it to 44,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
At about 28,000 feet height, the combination of pressure and heat made the asteroid fragment and annihilate itself producing a fireball and energy equal to about 185 Hiroshima bombs. The blast flattened an estimated 80 million trees over an area of 830 square miles (2,150 square km) of the forest.
It was thought that an asteroid or a comet was responsible for the blast. This event, the Tunguska impact is considered as the largest asteroid impact on the Earth in recorded history.
World Asteroid Day: Significance
World Asteroid Day or International Asteroid Day raises awareness about the devastating impact of an asteroid when it crashes to the Earth. The role of asteroids in the formation of our universe, how their resources can be used in the future, how asteroids provide the way for future exploration, and also how we can protect our planet from the impacts of asteroids.
Therefore, asteroids are rocky objects that are found orbiting around the Sun and also between the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is necessary to understand asteroids’ hazardous impacts. So, this World Asteroid Day is celebrated across the globe to educate people about asteroids and their impacts.
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