How big would an asteroid have to be to destroy the Earth?

Ultimately, scientists estimate that an asteroid would have to be about 96 km (60 miles) wide to completely and utterly wipe out life on our planet.

How big of an asteroid would it take to destroy a city?

If an asteroid the size of an apartment hits Earth, this blow could possibly destroy a small city. If an asteroid the size of a 20-storey building hits Earth, this blow can completely flatten a small country.

What would happen if a 1 km asteroid hit the Earth?

The largest near-Earth asteroids – those with a diameter of more than 1 kilometre – have the potential to cause geologic and climate effects on a global scale, disrupting human civilisation, and perhaps even resulting in the extinction of our species.

What is the probability of an asteroid hitting Earth?

Asteroids with a 1 km (0.62 mi) diameter strike Earth every 500,000 years on average. Large collisions – with 5 km (3 mi) objects – happen approximately once every twenty million years.

What would happen if a mile-wide asteroid hit Earth?

If a mile-wide asteroid hit Earth, it would strike the planet’s surface at about 30,000 mph. An asteroid that big traveling at that speed has the energy roughly equal to a 1 million megaton bomb . It’s very likely that an asteroid like this would wipe out most of life on the planet.

How much energy would an asteroid with a size of house?

Let’s say that an asteroid the size of a house crashed on Earth at 30,000 mph. It would have an amount of energy roughly equal to the bomb that fell on Hiroshima — perhaps 20 kilotons.

What would happen if the asteroid 1997xf11 hit Earth?

In 2028, the asteroid 1997XF11 will come extremely close to Earth but will miss the planet. If something were to change and it did hit Earth, what you would have is a mile-wide asteroid striking the planet’s surface at about 30,000 mph.

Are asteroids dangerous to life on Earth?

And remember, this asteroid didn’t even hit the earth. The bigger the asteroid, the more likely it is to create the kind of wind that can level whole towns or even cities. Another major threat to life from an asteroid comes from thermal radiation.