Near Earth Objects - a natural hazard of global proportions

one-day conference

Wednesday 23 November 2005

SYNOPSIS

On the same day that the Indian Ocean tsunami demonstrated that infrequent but potentially catastrophic natural hazards can cause major devastation and loss of life, a newly discovered asteroid (2004 MN4) more than 300m in diameter was the first object to reach Torino Scale level 4 (analogous to the Richter scale but dealing with potential Earth impact). With an average interval of about 100 years, asteroids larger than about 50 metres are expected to reach the Earth's surface and cause local devastation or produce tidal waves that can inundate coastal areas. On an average of every few hundred thousand years or so, asteroids larger than a kilometre can cause global disasters. Collisions with near-Earth objects (asteroids and comets) have occurred in the past and it seems prudent to mount efforts to discover and study these objects, to characterise their sizes, compositions and structures and to predict their future trajectories for potential collisions with the Earth.

When an object is finally verified to be on an Earth colliding trajectory, given several years warning time, existing technology could be used to deflect the threatening object away from Earth. The key point in this mitigation process is to find the threatening object years ahead of time so that an orderly international campaign can be mounted to send spacecraft to the threatening object.

This conference will consider the different types of near Earth objects, how we identify and track them, what would be needed to deflect a near Earth object from an Earth-colliding trajectory, and how we communicate these issues at a public, scientific and political level. Presentations will be given by leading European scientists engaged in NEO research as well as the engineers and policy makers who would need to respond to any impending threat from space.