Earth impact hazard: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Photos and Videos

The Chicxulub asteroid

Map of the northern Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico highlighting the location and circular outline of the Chicxulub crater, which is about 180 kilometers in diameter and partly extends into the Gulf of Mexico. The map also shows nearby cities such as Merida, Cancun, Campeche, and Playa del Carmen, as well as international borders with Belize and Guatemala. An inset globe marks the region's location in the Americas.

computer-generated image of the Chicxulub crater

asteroid hitting Earth

Manicouagan Crater

A logarithmic graph shows the average interval between Earth impacts by near-Earth objects of different diameters, plotting frequency in years against object size and kinetic energy. Markers highlight the Tunguska and Chicxulub events, with a shaded area indicating the global catastrophe threshold.

Torino Impact Hazard Scale

Chicxulub crater

Illustration showing a massive asteroid above a city map with a dinosaur silhouette for scale, highlighting the asteroid's size compared to major urban areas.

Learn how we discover near-earth asteroids and the paths they travel in space

Observe how paintball clouds enhance the albedo of asteroid leading to its deflection

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

potentially hazardous asteroid near-Earth object Planetary defense Small body Comet Asteroid Meteorite Meteor and meteoroidmeteoroid Micrometeoroid Interplanetary medium Centaur object What’s the Difference Between a Meteoroid, a Meteor, and a Meteorite?

Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

All About Astronomy

Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

All About Astronomy

1 July 2002: The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite reveals a massive solar eruption more than 30 times the Earth's diameter. The eruption formed when a loop of a magnetic field over the surface of the Sun trapped hot gas.

Brightest Star in the Solar System