NASA Shares How International Warning System Works in Case of Asteroid Collision

NASA astronomers have been tracking asteroids in space for potential threats. So far, there are no serious threats, but the US space agency already has plans to make an alert in case they need to issue one.

NASA's International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN)

A shock wave two million times stronger than a thermonuclear bomb would level forests and cause tsunamis if an asteroid that size struck Earth today. Cities would collapse with a seismic pulse equivalent to a magnitude ten earthquake.

The Earth would experience extreme cold long after the impact as a cloud of heated dust, ash, and steam blotted out the sun. However, we would at least be aware of its impending arrival beforehand. And perhaps we can even stop the end of the world if NASA has anything to say about it.

Finding, monitoring, and evaluating the risk associated with potentially dangerous asteroids in our solar system is the responsibility of NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office.

"We definitely want to find all those before they find us," said Lindley Johnson, Lead Program Executive for the Planetary Defense Coordination Office.

In order to accomplish this, NASA collaborates with the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN), a global alliance of astronomers.

IAWN has protocols in place to alert the public in case a harmful asteroid approaches Earth.

Initially, the party members who identified the threat would disseminate their observations throughout the IAWN network in order to corroborate their conclusions and evaluate the threat. NASA would issue an alarm as soon as all parties decided Earth should prepare for collision.

"I don't have a red phone on my desk or anything," Johnson said. "But we do have formal procedures by which notification of a serious impact would be provided."

NASA would alert the White House, and the government would formally notify the public if the asteroid was approaching the US. IAWN would alert the Office of Outer Space Affairs at the United Nations if it were large enough to be a threat to international security.

ALSO READ: 4,265-Foot Asteroid Could Potentially Crash Into Earth's Orbit Next Week: Report

1,100-Foot Asteroid Is Approaching Earth

NASA verifies that in 2029, a giant asteroid will be approaching Earth. Although the space rock is big, the agency clarified there would be no collision as Earth wouldn't be hit by it for at least a few decades.

The massive space rock dubbed 99942 Apophis is 1,100 feet wide. Each football field measures 300 feet, and three football fields equal 900 feet. The enormous asteroid is larger than three football fields because it measures over 1000 feet.

Thankfully, there is at least a 100-year window before it might hit this planet. But in recorded history, no asteroid has come any closer to Earth than this one. The Los Angeles Times stated that on April 13, 2029, Apophis will travel by Earth.

According to Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) lead scientist Lance Benner, scientists had never witnessed such a big space rock getting closer to Earth. In the space industry, "close" is a relative term. One-tenth the distance to the moon, the large asteroid will pass approximately 19,000 miles (31,000 kilometers) above the surface of the Earth.

It won't show up over the sky like a fiery ball. Instead, it will be visible from some areas of Europe and Africa with the unaided eye. Stargazers may be able to see it with binoculars on April 13 around 3:30 in the morning.

RELATED ARTICLE: NASA's DART Spacecraft Worked! Asteroid Killer Changed the Harmless Space Rock's Orbit More Than Expected

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