by Irma Arkus
New Scientist is reporting on the asteroid that caused a “dramatic explosion” above Indonesia on Oct. 8th. Just how dramatic? About 50,000 tons of TNT worth of drama. The worst part is not so much that the asteroid in question had the power of three Hiroshima nuclear bombs, that could have devastated Indonesia and cost countless lives, but rather that the entry of the asteroid was undetected.
While this time, Indonesia has escaped a narrow destruction, due to the asteroid breaking apart in upper atmosphere, some 15 to 20 km above Earth’s surface, neither telescopes detected its entry or approach, nor any other instruments have detected its entry to the Earth’s atmosphere.
This is a cause for concern, say scientists, who point out that we’ve vested billions of dollars into developing expensive communications satellites that seem to spy on everyone these days. Maybe we could invest a few more dollars to ensure Earth’s safety. [New Scientist]
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