NASA asteroid strike WARNING: Earth strikes ‘increase THREEFOLD’
“Over time these rocks get bombarded by sunlight and there is a process which re-emits this energy, and basically gives these fragments a tiny nudge, which can then send them on a collisional path towards Earth.
“It is a bit like a rising tide; you have a lot of material coming out of the asteroid belt at one point.”
Dr Gernon, however, is at pains to stress how rare Earth apocalyptic impacts are even if the probability is doubled or even tripled, saying: “There is no need for people to worry about this increased flux.
“We are saying large asteroid impacts – more than 1 km across – went from one every 3-5 million years prior to 90 million years ago, to roughly 1-2 every million years.”
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