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Earth impact hazard
References & Edit History Related Topics
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The Chicxulub asteroid
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.
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 Meteor Crater 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.
Learn how we discover near-earth asteroids and the paths they travel in space
Torino Impact Hazard Scale
At a Glance
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Earth impact hazard summary
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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
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.
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Earth impact hazard: References & Edit History

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

  • Edward F. Tedesco
    Research Associate Professor, Space Science Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham.
  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

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Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Added media. Sep 29, 2026
Media added. Mar 25, 2026
Added material about the DART test changing Dimorphos's shape. Mar 04, 2024
Links added. Oct 09, 2023
Changed “first such experiment” to “first such experiment in planetary defense.” Feb 23, 2023
Changed “only other verified case” to “only verified case.” Added material about DART's collision with Dimorphos. Oct 14, 2022
Article revised and updated. Feb 11, 2020
Media added. Dec 07, 2017
Media added. Apr 29, 2016
Discussion of Chelyabinsk meteorite added. Mar 05, 2013
Added satellite image of the Chicxulub impact crater on the Yucatán peninsula. Mar 07, 2012
Added photographs. Aug 01, 2011
Updated geologic time data. May 25, 2010
Number of NEOs and PHAs updated and information about asteroid 2007 VK184. Nov 24, 2009
Media added. Apr 17, 2007
New article added. Jun 16, 2005
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