Washington: A new research has revealed that smaller asteroids could cause bigger problems.
A physicist is now getting a chance to test his theories and simulations in a real-life event that changes the course of his scientific life.
Sandia physicist Mark Boslough, through a TV documentary, is trying to explain the impact of the Feb. 15 asteroid that burst over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, which injured about 1,500 people and damaged more than 7,000 buildings.
Boslough`s journey to Russia shortly after the impact is chronicled in the NOVA episode "Asteroid; Doomsday or Payday," which will air on Public Broadcasting Service stations.
The show focuses on the destructive potential of asteroids, chronicling how Boslough and his colleagues learn that small asteroids can do far more damage than previously thought.
The research also suggests that there may be more small asteroids than formerly thought.
The program also discusses how asteroids can contain rare and valuable elements, leading researchers to seriously evaluate the benefit of harvesting them for their rare elements.
But Boslough also wants the research community to pay more attention to the potential risk that asteroids present.
The research is published in the journal Nature.
