The explosion over Chelyabinsk, Russia this past February made the danger of asteroids loud and clear. Although it is only 17 meters (56 feet) in diameter, the asteroid’s explosion injured 1000 people and shattered nearly every window in the Russian city. And humans know of merely one percent of dangerous near-Earth objects, so there are many more asteroids out there that could potentially strike the planet.

This week, the United Nations adopted measures to create an international decision-making mechanism for planetary asteroid defense. Neil deGrasse Tyson, the director of the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium, moderated a panel today with several of the experts who have been studying potential asteroid impacts and helping to form the recommendations for the U.N.

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