Stanford professor oversees development of asteroid early-detection system
July 1, 2012
A large asteroid colliding with Earth may seem like a science fiction scenario, but there’s reason to take it seriously. Hundreds of thousands of these bodies cross Earth’s orbit – and the consequences of a direct hit by even one could be devastating.
But a new telescope, whose development is being overseen by Stanford Professor Scott Hubbard, promises to provide an early-detection system that could predict a devastating impact.
“We should be able to establish orbits well enough that we can predict where the asteroids will be in 50 to 100 years,” said Hubbard, an aeronautics and astronautics professor.
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