NASA Releases Map Of Over 1,400 ‘Potentially Hazardous Asteroids’ For Earth

August 15, 2013 1:35 PM

Orbits of “Potentially Hazardous Asteroids.” (credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

 

 asteroids, Earth, NASA, Space

TAMPA (CBS Tampa) — There’s no need to send Bruce Willis or Ben Affleck into space just yet. NASA releases a new map showing the orbits of all known “Potentially Hazardous Asteroids.”
With over 1,400 asteroids included on the map as of early 2013, NASA considers these to be potentially hazardous both because they follow orbits that pass close to Earth’s orbit, within 4.7 million miles, and because they are massive, each at least 460 feet in size.
The orbits of Earth, Mars, Mercury and Venus are shown in the map.
NASA says, though, that despite these asteroids being classified as “potentially hazardous,” there is no reason to worry about them.
“None of these PHAs is a worrisome threat over the next hundred years,” NASA stated. “By continuing to observe and track these asteroids, their orbits can be refined and more precise predictions made of their future close approaches and impact probabilities.”
Earlier this month NASA officials announced plans for an asteroid-mining mission set to begin in 2016.