Today, astronomers and space lovers around the world are collectively marveling at our mercurial presence in the universe, particularly as we drift the cosmos amid large asteroids like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
June 30 marks Asteroid Day, a holiday observed annually to reflect on the prospect of a planet-destroying space rock striking Earth and what scientists are doing to mitigate that risk.
The day is observed on the anniversary of the 1908 Tunguska event in Russia, when a space rock about half the size of a football field broke up in the air over a remote forest in Siberia — the biggest asteroid strike ever witnessed on Earth. With a flash brighter than the sun, followed by a thunder-like noise, the fireball killed herds of reindeer, knocked people who were over 40 miles away (64 kilometers) from the impact off their porches and leveled about 80 million trees. The impact dumped so much dust in the air that sunsets were fiery red for days, and people who lived as far away as Asia could read newspapers outdoors until midnight.
More recently, in February 2013, a 20-meter (66-foot) space rock struck Earth near the Chelyabinsk city in Russia, injuring about 1,500 people and shattering over 3,000 windows in apartments and commercial buildings. The shockwave generated by the impact was so strong it circled our planet twice, scientists say.
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