Scientists now warn that with even the most sophisticated
astronomical scanning technology, dangerous meteorites are
being missed and could possibly hit the earth with no warning.
Professor Wickramasinghe of the Cardiff University?s center
for Astrobiology claims that we can no longer assume that we
have decades or even years of warning for certain space
objects that are ?invisible? to current tracking methods.
Certain inactive comets may be covered with a type of
organic material that is loose and dispersed making it
non-reflective and thus impossible to detect. Because of
this vulnerability, Professor Wickramasinghe suggests that
current protocol for tracking objects threatening to earth
needs to be rethought to take into account ?invisible? comets.
Thankfully, a new NASA program has just been unveiled to do
just that. Scientists at NASA will soon begin scanning the
sky with an infrared telescope. Though they are looking
specifically for the type of objects Professor
Wickramasinghe?s group recently discovered, like brown
dwarfs (failed stars), cometary fragments, and dark comets.
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