Physics professor Michio Kakuw warned on "CBS This Morning" about the threat of a large comet or asteroid colliding with Earth similar to the meteorite that struck the Russian city of Chelyabinsk earlier this year.
"One of these days, an object with our name on it is going to hit the Earth," Kaku said. Kaku, who currently teaches at City College of New York, called the Russian meteorite a "wake-up call."
According to Kaku, although "city-busting" sized meteorites only strike the planet about once every 100 to 200 years, the chances of football field-sized asteroids hitting the Earth are quite good because there is no program in place to prevent it. In order to help combat the problem, Kaku suggested building an early-warning telescope.
"It would cost chump change -- a few hundred million," he said. "But we have the giggle factor. Every time you talk to a politician about asteroids they start to giggle." He went on to say that the meteorite that struck Russia would have had the force of 20 Hiroshima bombs had it not exploded in outer space.
"The dinosaurs did not have a space program," Kaku said, "and that's why they're not here today. But we do have a space program but even then, we are sitting ducks."
Source: upi.com
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