Asteroid Day: Remembering the Past, Protecting the Future
Asteroid Day is an annual global event which is held on June 30, the anniversary of the Tunguska event in 1908 when a meteor air burst levelled about 2,150 km² of forest in Siberia, Russia.The Tunguska event, which flattened approximately 800 square miles of forest in Siberia, serves as a stark reminder of the destructive power of asteroid impacts.
An asteroid impact is widely accepted as the primary cause of the Cretaceous-Paleogene,KT extinction event, which led to the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs, occurred approximately 66 million years ago.The impact of a large asteroid, estimated to be around 10 to 15 kilometers (6 to 9 miles) in diameter, created the Chicxulub crater in the Yucatan Peninsula. Luckily for us two asteroids safely flew past Earth on 29 June,2025 during the height of this year's Asteroid Day activities.Asteroid 2024 MK was between 120 and 260 m in size and was discovered on 16 June 2024.
Sooner or later, we will face a catastrophic threat from space. A gigantic asteroid hit can destroy the entire planet.Asteroids are small, rocky objects that orbit the sun. Although asteroids orbit the sun like planets, they are much smaller than planets.If we prepare now, we better our odds of survival. The dinosaurs never knew what hit them.
On 13 April 2029, the asteroid 99942 Apophis will pass safely at a distance of about 32,000 kilometers above Earth's surface, within the geostationary orbit, posing no threat to the planet. This extremely close approach will make the asteroid visible to billions of people with the naked eye in the clear night sky.This will be a once-in-a-millennium event and a unique occasion for a worldwide campaign to raise awareness about the potential hazards of asteroids.
Here is a cute little story which about a little boy who once stood on a small asteroid.He looked up at the stars and asked,“What if something big came from the sky?”
That question, though simple, became the beginning of something important and everyone scratched their heads and thought.People from Earth remembered a day—long ago—when a space rock crashed into the forest.It shook the trees, but also woke up human hearts.Now every June 30, Earthlings pause to look up.
They listen to the sky.They study the rocks that wander in space and think of ways to save their planet.They call it Asteroid Day!
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