Most of potentially dangerous asteroids invisible to scientists - expert
MOSCOW. Oct 4 (Interfax-AVN) - The Chelyabinsk meteorite event of February 15 stirred up international public's interest in the asteroid and comet hazard, Russian Academy of Sciences Space Research Institute spokesman Yuri Zaitsev told Interfax-AVN.
"NASA plunged into a debate over projects aimed to capture or deflect asteroids. Such projects are just a concept for Russia: the primary objective of the only asteroid project of Roscosmos, a mission to Asteroid Apophis, is to study that space body," Zaitsev said.
In his words, the danger presented by asteroids and comets will be discussed in the context of the Chelyabinsk meteorite event during the Day of Space Science hosted by the Academy Space Research Institute on the occasion of the 56th anniversary of the first satellite mission.
"The meteorite fall in Chelyabinsk showed that even an asteroid tiny by space standards may cause serious aftereffects if it falls near a large city," the expert said.
"The task of asteroid deflection may look like science fiction but it is not technically impossible," he said.
"The question is how big the potential danger from such objects is. Most importantly, it is difficult to observe such small bodies because their trail is not very bright and their orbits are practically unknown. Less than 1% of asteroids of the Chelyabinsk type have been discovered as yet. A systemic search for these asteroids is difficult because of their small size," the expert said.
Nevertheless, the search for asteroids and meteorites has been active. Land-based optical telescopes are scanning the skies for potential dangers.
