Strike by undetectable asteroid 'could kill a million'
AN ASTEROID too small to be picked up by telescopes could wipe out a city, killing up to a million people, a leading scientist has warned.
Objects less than 460ft across are not currently detected, but research suggests they pack a far mightier punch than previously feared.
A computer simulation carried out in the United States shows asteroids as small as 100ft wide could cause "airbursts" similar to one that flattened 1,250 square miles of Siberian forest almost a century ago.
Dr Mark Boslough, in a report published in New Scientist, said: "It is becoming clear previous models are not right. If one of these events hit an area of high population density, it could kill a million people."
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Saturday 18 February 2012
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