Avoiding Asteroids

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A new NASA warning system means we’re getting better at spotting Earth-bound space rocks. But how safe are we? The proportion of asteroids we know about has grown rapidly in the past few decades, so what are the chances of us being taken by surprise? If we did spot an asteroid hurtling towards Earth, what could we do about it? And – perhaps most importantly of all – could the plot of the film Armageddon happen in real life? We get answers from NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies. Image: Asteroid - photo credit: Shutterstock