It is still impossible to detect celestial bodies approaching from the Sun, similar to the Chelyabinsk meteorite, in the daytime sky. Humanity would have missed it just as it did 13 years ago, TASS was told by Sergei Yazev, a leading researcher at the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The scientist explained that existing networks of automatic telescopes make it possible to register threats in the night sky long before they approach the Earth — in such cases, it is even possible to evacuate the population. However, the Chelyabinsk space object moved from the Sun and entered the atmosphere unexpectedly.
The astronomer recalled the Russian project "System for Detecting Daytime Asteroids", which involved launching a satellite to observe the planet from the Sun's side. This would make it possible to record the threat at least a few hours before the collision. However, the matter did not go beyond discussions.
I think we should still make a responsible decision and include such an initiative in the national project "Cosmos". Of course, we can hope that another hundred years will pass before a similar event is repeated, relying on statistics. But statistics can play a cruel joke. The appearance of a second such near-Earth asteroid, figuratively speaking, could happen as early as tomorrow.
On February 15, 2013, a large meteorite entered the atmosphere and disintegrated over the Chelyabinsk region. The blast wave damaged residential buildings, schools and industrial facilities. The damage exceeded 1 billion rubles. 1,613 people sought medical help.
Read more materials on the topic:
- Like 20 atomic bombs: scientists believe that the Chelyabinsk meteorite did not destroy the city for only one reason
- The bright bolide that flew over Moscow turned out to be a stony meteorite
- Rare video: a meteorite over Moscow was filmed from an airplane
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