Around 66 million years ago, a massive asteroid crashed into Earth, leaving behind a colossal crater in what is now Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. It triggered one of the most devastating extinction events in Earth’s history, wiping out the dinosaurs and much of the planet’s life. Today, scientists are working to prevent such a disaster from happening again.
Thousands of near-Earth asteroids are being tracked. Some are large enough to cause widespread destruction if they were to collide with our planet. NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) uses advanced tools to predict and analyze possible future paths of these objects.
In this gallery, we look at asteroids that have the potential to become serious threats. Curious? Click to find out.