• Question: if a big asteroid were to hit earth, would we be able to surrvive the amount of dust it throws up?

    Asked by pagea to Alan on 10 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Alan Fitzsimmons

      Alan Fitzsimmons answered on 10 Mar 2014:

      It depends how big it is. The biggest asteroids to hit us in recent history were in 1908, and last year in 2013. They were only about 50 metres and 20 metres across, and so they didn’t release to much dust.

      We calculate that if the asteroid is a kilometre across or bigger, we would all feel the effects. there would be so much pulverised rock thrown up into the atmosphere it would stay there for years, dimming the sun. This would lower temperatures so much it would stop crops growing, leading to famine throughout the world.

      Even then many people would survive, but it would be a very different way of life and no-one knows who would live and who would die.

    • Photo: Alan Fitzsimmons

      Alan Fitzsimmons answered on 10 Mar 2014:

      It depends how big it is. The biggest asteroids to hit us in recent history were in 1908, and last year in 2013. They were only about 50 metres and 20 metres across, and so they didn’t release to much dust.

      We calculate that if the asteroid is a kilometre across or bigger, we would all feel the effects. there would be so much pulverised rock thrown up into the atmosphere it would stay there for years, dimming the sun. This would lower temperatures so much it would stop crops growing, leading to famine throughout the world.

      Even then many people would survive, but it would be a very different way of life and no-one knows who would live and who would die.

      Luckily we haven’t spotted any large asteroids likely to hit us in the next 100 years, and we’re keeping looking just in case.

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