How would a scientist go about destroying an asteroid or comet, also known as NEOs, headed toward a major city on Earth? Bong Wie, aerospace engineering professor and Asteroid Deflection Center founder, offered advice on the situation in the January 2015 issue of Aerospace America.
Though experts expect Earth to be struck every 100 million years by a 10-kilometer-diameter rock, strategies are being developed to find hazards to prevent the problem in the future. Wie suggested a nuclear device may be the solution to stop NEOs in situations with months of warning time.
The article, written by Brian Steiner, can be viewed here.