Asteroids are rock-like celestial objects in the space that orbit the sun. These minor planets are mainly made up of metals and rocky materials. Majority of asteroids are found in the main asteroid belt (a region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter).How are they different from planets ? Unlike planets, Asteroids are small in size, irregular in shape and do not follow a perfect elliptical path. Due to the small size, Asteroids experience perturbation ( subject to many forces ) which directs some of them towards the Earth’s atmosphere. Asteroids that has entered into the Earth’s atmosphere are called meteors. Once they enter the Earth’s atmosphere, they gain a large momentum and bring about disastrous impact if their size is beyond 25 meters (otherwise would end up burning in the atmosphere itself) Asteroid Day is observed globally on June 30 in order to “observe each year at the international level the anniversary of the Tunguska impact (the most harmful known asteroid-related event on Earth in recent history ),over Siberia, Russian Federation, on 30 June 1908, and to raise public awareness about the asteroid impact hazard.”Huge Asteroids on explosion can release gases that can block the Sunlight completely and cause nuclear winter which indeed reduces the temperature at which humans cannot survive. The recent studies have proven that the extinction of dinosaurs which was once considered as an impact of volcanic eruption, is actually due to the Asteroid impact. In-fact volcanic eruptions have decreased the impact. Many of the cosmologists, theoretical physicists including Stephen Hawking, have predicted that the doomsday would arise due to Asteroids and researches are being carried out to detect the harmful asteroids and find ways to prevent its massive impact.
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