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Article: Cosmic collisions.
- Article from:
- The Futurist
- Article date:
- September 1, 1991
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1991 World Future Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Small meteorites hit the Earth every day, according to astronomers, usually with little notice and no consequences the planet. But it is likely that, someday, a large asteroid will slam into the Earth - with devastating results - according to the Smithsonian Institution.
Scientists estimate that an asteroid large enough to cause major devastation hits the Earth every 10 million years, says Smithsonian spokesman William G. Schulz. An asteroid collision of large magnitude could release millions of megatons of explosive energy, destroying cities, flooding continents, and wiping out all living things larger than insects.
Such a massive asteroid, though far ...