Space rocks could be a major threat to the Earth. Astronomers announced that they are keeping a close eye on distant giant comets that are passing by the Earth, according to a collaborated study by Armagh Observatory and the University of Buckingham.
"In the last three decades, we have invested a lot of effort in tracking and analysing the risk of a collision between the Earth and an asteroid," Bill Napier, coauthor of the study from the University of Buckingham, said in a news release.
The majority of potential Earth smashers have been observed in the asteroid belt roughly between Mars, Earth and Jupiter, according to the researchers. Over the last two decades researchers have identified hundreds of giant comets dubbed centaurs that have larger orbits.
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