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Question
Are asteroids a threat to life on earth?
Asteroids and comets both strike Earth and are capable of great damage locally or, in the case of the large impactors, on a global scale. Impacts by an object more than 10 km across are the largest natural threats we know of, capable of causing a mass extinction. We all know the example of the impact 65 million years ago that caused the extinction of more than half of all species, including all of the dinosaurs. Of course, this event also illustrates the good side of extinctions, which open up lots of evolutionary opportunities for the survivors, such as the early mammals. While an asteroid impact can produce a mass extinction, no impact is likely that would end life on Earth. For more information about the impact hazard see the NASA website http://impact.arc.nasa.gov. David Morrison
NAI Senior Scientist
April 17, 2008
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