Eben Black, Chief Political Correspondent
<http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/08/19/stinwenws01026.html>
MORE than 65m years after a disaster from space probably wiped out the dinosaurs, the government is proposing a national research centre to protect mankind from the same fate.
Lord Sainsbury, the science minister, will launch a competition this week for the contract to build a centre to research and explain the danger of human life being snuffed out by a giant asteroid. Museums and astronomical observatories will be invited to submit tenders to build and house the new multi-million-pound centre.
Dinosaurs are thought to have been wiped out after a huge asteroid hit Earth, and scientists are concerned that further asteroid strikes present a similar risk to humans. Encouraged by the government, which has set up its own "near-Earth objects task force", they are already scanning the skies in an attempt to identify killer rocks that might be heading in our direction.
"There are currently no known large asteroids or comets whose orbit puts them on a collision course with Earth, but while the risk of being hit is very remote, the potential for damage exists," said Sainsbury. "It is important that information on asteroids or comets can be made available to the public and I hope that organisations will be able to respond positively to our proposals."
The proposed centre will include an interactive public exhibition to explain how asteroids and comets are formed and what might happen in the event of one striking Earth.
Scientists calculate that there are 100m asteroids in space, with 1,413 charted as having the potential to collide with Earth. They say there could be many more on the way, which have not yet been discovered by astronomers.
As well as the impact that wiped out the dinosaurs, it is believed there are as many as 200 craters around the world which can be put down to "impact events".
The huge Barringer crater in Arizona is thought to have been created by an impact 49,000 years ago. There was also an asteroid that struck the Tunguska forest in Siberia in 1908, destroying 700m acres of trees and incinerating everything for 100 miles.
The asteroid responsible, an estimated 50 yards wide, was of a type which scientists expect to hit Earth every 100 years or so - leaving us possibly just seven years to prepare for a similar event.
The government's interest in asteroids is not new. Its near- Earth objects task force reported last year that action needed to be taken to improve Earth's security. Its proposals included fitting all European space probes with asteroid detectors, building a giant telescope dedicated to hunting these objects, and fitting existing telescopes with asteroid detection software.
Scientists argue that detecting asteroids early is not just an academic exercise. The dinosaurs were powerless to help themselves, but the development of rockets and nuclear bombs means that humans might be able to destroy or divert asteroids that are heading for Earth before they strike.
There have been suggestions that the missile shield proposed by US President George W Bush to protect against strikes by "rogue" states such as North Korea and Iraq could be adapted to protect against asteroids and comets.
Sir Patrick Moore, the astronomer and television personality, has given his personal backing to such a plan. He has described the chances of a dangerous impact as "not high but significant nonetheless".
Jonathan Tate, director of Spaceguard UK, an organisation that has campaigned for government action since 1996, welcomed the initiative.
"It is very important that the public and the media are better informed about the risks of asteroid impacts," he said. "You are 750 times more likely to die from an asteroid impact than you are of winning the national lottery jackpot. The public should not be unduly frightened - this is a problem we can fix. We already know what to do if we come across such an asteroid; we just need the infrastructure to carry it out."
===== Kevin Dean Buffalo, NY ICQ: 8616001 http://www.yaysoft.com
__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/