Although no meteor is expected to hit the earth in the near future, experts are constantly observing to detect this danger. Thanks to a newly developed simulation, researchers have revealed the effects of a very large meteor hitting the earth.
What will happen to humanity when the meteor hits?
The falling of a meteor to the earth has been happening since the existence of our planet, but the size of this meteor is a very important parameter in terms of how it will affect our planet. Although most meteorites are small in size, they do not have a situation that will affect humanity, but a meteor with a diameter of about 10 km, which is thought to have caused the extinction of dinosaurs, has reached our planet before.
The researchers, who carried out a simulation of what would happen if a similar situation were experienced today, state that we will experience a winter that will last for about two years. It is stated that when such a large meteor falls, we may encounter fires, shock waves, heat radiation, a large crater, acid rain and giant tsunamis in the world. Ashes from fires and any fine-grained debris from the collision will remain suspended in the atmosphere for a long time, blocking sunlight from reaching the earth’s surface.
Despite all this, researchers say that people can survive if necessary precautions are taken. Britt Scharringhausen, associate professor of physics and astronomy on the research team: “Everything is not going to die. If we think of humans, the way to survive is to go underground. If you’re in a bunker and have enough supplies to get through that winter period when you can’t grow edible food, you can get through this period.” said.
After all these processes are over, it is thought that agriculture can be started again thanks to the seed storages.
So, trying to answer the question of what can be done to avoid all situations, NASA launched the Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission. The purpose of the mission is to test their ability to circumvent this danger by changing their course in the event of a meteor hitting our world in the future.
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