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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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Odds of Cataclysmic Space-Rock Crash: 1 in 10

Despite danger, NASA doing little to protect planet

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(Newser) – Chicken Little may have been smarter than we thought. A growing body of evidence reveals that the sky is falling, or at least gigantic space rocks are—and the Earth is at far greater risk of a catastrophic strike than previously thought, reports Atlantic. Despite the danger—an impact could make a nuclear bomb look like a firecracker—NASA is expending little effort to protect the planet.

“What is in the best interest of the country is never even mentioned in current NASA planning,” said a former Apollo astronaut. “Are we going to let a space strike kill millions of people before we get serious about this?” A generation ago, conventional wisdom put the chances of a major strike at 1 in a million—today, a leading asteroid specialist says it's closer to 1 in 10 each century.

Sandia National Laboratoriesresearcher Mark Boslough demonstrates the
Sandia National Laboratoriesresearcher Mark Boslough demonstrates the "fireball" that an asteroid exploding in Earth's atmosphere could produce in Albuquerque, N.M. on Nov. 7, 2007.   (AP Photo/Sandia National Laboratories, Randy Montoya, HO)
The universe is an extremely nasty place, and new research suggests Earth dwellers may be underselling its potential to devastate the planet.
The universe is an extremely nasty place, and new research suggests Earth dwellers may be underselling its potential to devastate the planet.   (AP Photo/NASA)
The universe may be a more dangerous place than experts previously thought.
The universe may be a more dangerous place than experts previously thought.   (IndexOpen)
Comet Holmes in the northeastern night sky in the constellation Perseus, taken in Tyler, Texas on Friday, Nov. 9, 2007.
Comet Holmes in the northeastern night sky in the constellation Perseus, taken in Tyler, Texas on Friday, Nov. 9, 2007.   (AP Photo/Dr. Scott M. Lieberman)
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