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Will a Killer Asteroid Hit the Earth?

It's a safe bet that the Earth will get really banged up by a major piece of space rock sometime in the future. And that could mean disastrous consequences for the planetary population. Unless, of course, we clever humans catch wind of the asteroid's approach and devise a plan to keep the threat at bay — possibly returning to the script of "Deep Impact" for inspiration.

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Science
Will We Travel to the Stars?
Will We Clone a Dinosaur?
Will a Killer Asteroid Hit the Earth?
Will the Mind Figure Out How the Brain Works?
Will We Keep Evolving?
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  • quiz
    According to astronomers at the Minor Planets Center, the number of known asteroids that pose a potential danger to the Earth is:

    a) 20,000
    b) 2,000
    c) 200
    d) 20
    e) 2

    poll
    Did a giant asteroid cause the dinosaurs to become extinct?
    Yes
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    web resources
    NASA's Asteroid and Comet Impact Hazards
    NASA site dedicated to tracking and identifying near-Earth objects

    Asteroids
    Site from Bill Arnett's "Nine Planets' series detailing every aspect of asteroids

    Asteroid Tracker
    NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab maintains the NEAT project for finding and tracking undiscovered asteroids