Each year asteroids come close to the Earth. Many of them pose no threat as they are either quite small or else really still far enough to avoid collision. There are some though that are large enough that might pose a threat to life. NASA's new asteroid warning system aims to warn of such dangers. With the new system people want to know-can end of the world be avoided with it.
NASA has employed a new warning system that might be able to help people prepare in some way. The new system is called Scout. The new system is made to warn people about a coming asteroid. In its test, it has been successful enough to give people five days of warning before an actual asteroid strike would occur.
Scout works in tandem with other systems. A telescope in Hawaii called the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) would first see the approaching asteroid. This would then alert other telescope observation points about it. From there a calculation of its trajectory would be made. The size of the asteroid can also be known this way.
The new system is an improvement over previous other systems. The previous systems only give a day, or even hours, or advanced warning, according to AOL News. With the new system NASA has more time to work with other agencies such as FEMA.
Thousands of near Earth objects or NEOs have so far been found. These NEOs are constantly moving, and most of them are real threat to the Earth. Some though can come close, so there is need for a much better system such as Scout to warn people.
Along with Scout, another system called Sentry is also in place. Sentry's role is to warn of very large asteroids that are approaching, as Phys Org reports. These asteroids can have the potential to destroy as city. Such asteroids and other NEOs are about 140 meters or more in size. As of now 600 of such objects have been found, and scientists think more are out there.
Some asteroids still slip past the earlier systems. With Scout and Sentry working in tandem, the Earth would have more security against NEOs that might come close by. NASA's new asteroid warning system might be able to save more lives if ever it happens, and people won't have to wonder, can end of the world be avoided?
