Fact Sheet
Rocky Targets
Hundreds of asteroids follow orbital paths that approach or cross Earth's orbit, making them potential hazards to our planet. An impact by a large enough asteroid could devastate a city, a region, or the entire planet. Astronomers are trying to locate and track all the hazardous asteroids, while other scientists are devising schemes for deflecting asteroids from collision courses. This image shows one Near-Earth asteroid, 433 Eros, in a 2000 image from the NEAR spacecraft. [Credit: NASA/JHUAPL]
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