City Killers: The Terrifying Reality of Half-Giraffe Asteroids
A new study has revealed an alarming truth: City-killing asteroids may be more common than previously thought.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge, explored the possibility that asteroids large enough to cause catastrophic damage to cities are more frequent than estimated. Using data from the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, they discovered that over half of all asteroids larger than one kilometer are “giraffes,” meaning they are long and thin instead of round.
This discovery implies that our current asteroid-detecting methods may be missing a significant number of these potentially dangerous objects, making it more likely that an asteroid could unexpectedly strike a city without warning. The researchers are now calling for an improved system of asteroid detection to better prepare us for the possibility of a city-killing asteroid strike.
source: Phys.org