It's extremely doubtful that this body could have done all that much
more damage. It simply wasn't big enough, or strong enough. A little
steeper (or just as likely, as little shallower), a little earlier or
later, probably wouldn't have made much difference.
While I'd love to see a constellation of IR space telescopes looking for
asteroids in this size range, realistically there's probably nothing we
could do if we found one, and as a matter of public policy, the money
might well be considered poorly spent.
The reality is that the actual risk to human life and property from
small asteroids is absurdly small compared to a large number of other
things that we actually have some control over.
Chris
*******************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
On 3/25/2013 3:15 PM, Michael Farmer wrote:
Congratulations to Dante Lauretta of UOfA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and
Osiris-Rex mission, who presented a piece of Chelyabinsk that I donated, to
President Obama and Congress today while there to discuss the threat of
asteroid impact.
Chelyabinsk was almost a "City Killer" as Richard Kowalski told me yesterday,
had it come in a few second earlier and steeper angle, a million people in Chelyabinsk
would likely be dead today.
Time to take meteorites serious.
Michael Farmer
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