NASA Space Telescope Finds Fewer Asteroids Near Earth

New observations by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), show there are significantly fewer asteroids near Earth in the mid-size range than previously thought. These new findings also indicate NASA has found more than 90 percent of the largest near-Earth asteroids. Astronomers now estimate there are roughly 19,500 (not 35,000 as previously thought) mid-size near-Earth asteroids. Scientists say this improved understanding of the population could mean the hazard to Earth could be somewhat less than previously thought. However, the majority of these mid-size asteroids remain to be discovered. More research also is needed to determine if fewer mid-size objects (objects between 330 and 3,300-feet wide) also mean fewer potentially hazardous asteroids, those that come closest to Earth. Near-Earth asteroids fall under the category of any space rock that orbits within 195 million kilometers of the sun into Earth's orbital vicinity. Though the WISE data reveal only a small decline in the estimated numbers for the largest near-Earth asteroids, which are 1 kilometer and larger, they show 93 percent of the estimated population have been found. This fulfills the initial "Spaceguard" goal agreed to with Congress in 1998.

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It is reported that Copernicus' parents said the following to him at the age of twelve: "Copernicus, young man, when are you going to come to terms with the fact that the world does not revolve around you."