NASA’s asteroid collision: how many asteroids are really out there?

More or Less: Behind the Stats

BBC

Business, Mathematics, Science, News Commentary, News

4.6 • 3.5K Ratings

🗓️ 1 October 2022

⏱️ 10 minutes

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Summary

This week NASA slammed a spacecraft into an asteroid in the hope of diverting its course. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test or DART mission will help scientists understand how easy it would be protect Earth if one was headed in our direction. More Or Less first discussed this in 2016 with a little help from the movie Armageddon – with listeners getting in touch once again we ask how many asteroids are really out there and how dangerous they might be to Earth. Presenters: Charlotte McDonald and Simon Maybin Producer: Charlotte McDonald Editor: Richard Vadon Production Coordinator: Jacqui Johnson Sound Engineer: James Beard (Image: 3D rendering of a swarm of Meteorites or asteroids entering the Earth atmosphere: ratpack223/ Getty)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to more or less on the BBC World Service with me Simon Maven.
0:06.7	And me Charlotte McDonald.
0:08.6	This week we're talking asteroids because of NASA's exciting, dark mission.
0:13.2	You might have heard about it, the idea was to try and knock an asteroid off its path
0:18.7	by flying an uncrewed spacecraft directly into it.
0:22.5	So if there was a space rock heading towards Earth, we might be able to do the same thing.
0:28.3	Good news, they scored a direct hit, but we won't know for a few weeks how much they
0:33.2	changed the asteroid's trajectory.
0:35.2	Trying to stop an asteroid hitting the Earth sounds like the plot from a film.
0:39.5	Because of course, it is the plot to quite a few films.
0:43.2	But for the more or less team, there's only one asteroid film.
0:46.7	Our McGueddon.
0:47.7	A film we love so much we made a programme about it in 2016.
0:52.3	So today we're going to answer listener questions about the latest asteroid mission.
0:57.3	But first let's go back into the archive to answer the key question.
1:01.5	Could the plot of the film, Armageddon, happen in real life?
1:05.6	Don't trust my eyes.
1:09.5	I don't want to fall asleep cause I miss you baby.
1:15.2	And I don't want to miss a thing.
1:18.3	If you haven't seen the 1998 Hollywood hit, they're more about to ruin it for you.
1:25.9	An asteroid is heading towards Earth and it's a biggie.
1:32.9	This new one you're tracking, how big?
	...

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