How big a meteorite can wipe out life on Earth?

Last week, NASA shocked many people by announcing an unprecedented large meteorite that would fly past the Earth. It is a celestial body named 2000-FL10, number 86666 with a diameter of about 3.2 km, 15 times the largest meteorite ever visited us.

How big a meteorite can destroy Earth?

Although not causing a collision, many people ask a question if that happens, can it destroy our planet? The answer for you is: no. In order to destroy all life on Earth, the universe needs to send a much larger meteorite.

How big a meteorite can wipe out life on Earth?

Brian Toon, an Earth scientist from Colorado Boulder University has spent many years studying the potential impact of asteroids. He said an asteroid with an 800m diameter collided with the Earth could cause heavy damage, large earthquakes and release an energy equivalent to 100 billion tons of TNT.

However, that has not been absorbed yet. Let's talk about meteorites that lead to the extinction of dinosaurs. It is a celestial body with a diameter of about 11 to 13 km. Its collision with Earth causes dust to fill our planet, burn everything and basically tell the dinosaurs to be cooked.

If a similar collision occurs at this time, it will kill billions of people, most animals and plants. There will be a probability of surviving for a small number of people. However, then they will face food depleted for a long time. It will take a long time to reconstruct a population.

A meteor with a diameter of at least 100km is enough to destroy the Earth.

Richard Binzel, a planetary science professor at MIT, says that although an asteroid can come and destroy us one day, that possibility is very low. It must reach a diameter of 100km. We are not currently observing an asteroid large enough in the possible orbits for this.

Set a scale. What if a small object like your house hit Earth at 50,000km / h? Experts say that it can level everything in a radius of nearly 1km. A large celestial body like a 20-storey building can level nearly 10km radius.

And if it's not enough to make you worry, wait until October 26, 2028 . It is time for a next big asteroid to visit us. It is about 1.6 km in diameter and flies at 50,000km / h. If you collide with New York, this asteroid can level the space from Washington DC to Boston.

Now it deserves a real disaster. However, if you are considering moving, it is not necessary. As mentioned, these asteroids have a very low probability of collision with us. And moreover, you should trust NASA, they say we will be safe. The asteroid with an upper 10km in diameter actually only glides through the Earth at about twice the distance of the Moon in 2028.

In short, an asteroid must be at least 100 km in size to be able to destroy life on Earth . However, even if the bodies are much smaller, it is difficult to collide with our planet, you can rest assured that your pillow is sleeping. Enjoy life and challenge the universe: if you're good, send a larger heavenly body here!