These days, the word 'asteroid' usually only comes up when we're talking about the extinction of the dinosaurs. But astronomy contributor Jean Creighton notes that a near-Earth object,or NEO, is either a comet or asteroid that gets within 30 million miles from the Earth's surface. But what would we do if a massive object were hurtling toward Earth today?
"Whereas most of the time, space is a lovely place to inspire us and make us reach for the stars...this is the kind of thing that actually could destroy a large city," says Creighton. "So if we know where these objects are and when they're likely to get close, we can actually do something about it."
Creighton joined Lake Effect's Mitch Teich in the studio to talk about the scientists who are considering the ways in which we can deal with any threatening NEOs:
