One man has devoted decades to separating cosmic fact from fiction.
Nasa scientist Prof Richard P. Binzel is the inventor of the Torino Scale, a tool used to measure the danger posed by newly discovered asteroids.
The scale considers the size of the asteroid, chance of it hitting Earth, and potential damage a hit could cause.
The higher the number, the bigger the threat.
Over close to five decades he has been scanning the skies, and his telescopic reconnaissance has supported more than a dozen international planetary exploration missions.
Prof Binzel said he could not bear to watch asteroid disaster movies and TV shows.
"This disconnect between reality and Hollywood fiction stretches beyond what my stomach can take."
The contrast between sci-fi and fact will be addressed by Prof Binzel in a talk at Tūhura Otago Museum next week.
He will speak about frequent media hype surrounding asteroids and investigate the real situation for asteroids passing near Earth and the hazards (if any) they pose.
He will also talk about future space exploration opportunities that asteroids could offer.
One event he was particularly excited about was the close approach, but certain miss of a large asteroid named Apophis.
The asteroid was estimated to be 350m across and was anticipated to pass by Earth on April 13, 2029.
He said it presented a fantastic science opportunity, and he was organising an international workshop in May focused on the opportunities for the science of planetary defence and international collaborations for Earth-based or investigations in the vicinity of the asteroid.
The Apophis encounter was a once-per-thousand-year opportunity for investigating a large asteroid passing within six Earth-radii (about 38,000km) of Earth, Prof Binzel said.
Show
Asteroids: Friends or Foes?
Prof Richard P. Binzel
Wednesday, April 12
5.30pm
Tūhura Otago Museum
Perpetual Guardian Planetarium
Koha entry
