International Asteroids Day 2021

ASTEROID DAY

Asteroid day is a global awareness campaign where people from around the world come together to learn about asteroid and what we do to protect our planet family ,opportunities and future generation from future asteroid impacts

Asteroid day was co-founded by astrophysicist and famed musician Dr Brian May of the rock group Queen, Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart, filmmaker Grig Richards and B612 Foundation President Danica  Reme.  In December 2016 the, United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution declaring June 30 as the international asteroid day in order to "observe each year at the international level the anniversary of the Tunguska impact over Siberia and to raise public awareness about the asteroid impact hazard".

Asteroids are small, rocky objects orbiting the Sun. They are also known as leftover material of the Solar System and found between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter (asteroid belt ).Their size ranges from about the size of pebbles to around 600 miles across. There are several hundred thousand asteroids believed to exist in our Solar System. Asteroids ( near earth asteroids) could strike earth and cause significant damage.

Impacts of asteroids

Asteroid impacts produce an array of impact effects that can harm human populations. A list of seven such impact effects  are wind blast, overpressure shock, thermal radiation, cratering, seismic shaking, ejecta deposition, and tsunami. The impact of an asteroid depends upon its location (where it hits ..on land ,sea ,desert ,mountains , or the areas of high or low population), size, speed , angle and its composition. If the asteroid hits on land, there would be a huge amount of dust thrown up into the atmosphere. If it hits in water, then there would be an increase in water vapor in the atmosphere. This would result in an increase in rain resulting in landslides and mudslides. Regionally there might be earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis due to the increase in kinetic energy. If the asteroid is large enough, these could be global in impact. An asteroid impact around 65 million years ago caused a chain reaction that led t the extinction of the dinosaurs and affected all life on Earth, according to scientists.

Tunguska impact : The anniversary of the Tunguska impact is observed on 30 June which is also known as the Tunguska impact. A large explosion occurred on that day in the sky over the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Siberia, Russia. According to NASA, it was estimated that the asteroid entered the atmosphere of the Earth at a speed of about 33,500 miles per hour. The space rock of 220-million-pound  heated the air surrounding it to 44,500 degrees Fahrenheit. At about 28,000 feet of height, the combination of pressure and heat made the asteroid fragment and annihilate itself that produces a fireball, and energy equal to about 185 Hiroshima bombs was released. The blast flattened an estimated 80 million trees over an area of 830 square miles (2,150 square km) of the forest. The Tunguska impact is considered the largest asteroid impact on the Earth in recorded history.

 

Significance of World Asteroid Day or International Asteroid Day is to raise awareness about the devastating impact of an asteroid when it crashes to the Earth. The role of asteroids in the formation of our universe, how their resources can be used in the future, how asteroids provide the way for future exploration, and also how we can protect our planet from the impacts of asteroids. Also to understand asteroid's hazardous impacts. So, this World Asteroid Day is celebrated across the globe to educate people about asteroids and their impacts.