When’s the next time Earth will be hit by a asteroid or meteorite?
Meteorites land on Earth all the time! Every 30 seconds, a meteorite 1mm in diameter lands on Earth. But the objects that we care more about are the bigger ones.
Around once a year, a meteorite 4 meters in diameter lands on Earth. And around every thousand years, a 90 meter asteroid lands on Earth.
Around every million years, an asteroid hits the Earth that causes an impact as powerful as the entire global nuclear arsenal.
And every 100 million years or so, an asteroid the size of the one that killed the dinosaurs hits the Earth. That asteroid hit 66 million years ago...
About 120 times per hour.
About once per year.
Approximately 5 times since the Great Pyramids of Giza were built.
Approximately once per million years — 3 times longer than Homo sapiens have existed.
Last time this happened, it wiped out the dinosaurs.
1mm
4m
90m
400m
9km
Object size →
