"Giant Space Object Incoming" But, is it Really? (Debunking Alarmist News Headlines)

A "gigantic" asteroid the size of the Empire State Building sped "towards Earth" in early January 2020.

The argument isn't that you shouldn't be concerned about asteroids. On the contrary, the threat of an object from space colliding with Earth is genuine, as countless dinosaur remains and the rest of the geologic record show. But it's the goods that aren't yet in our catalogs that pose the greatest threat.

The most major impact of the previous century occurred in 2013, when a meteor collided with the atmosphere above Russia, causing a shock wave that broke hundreds of windows in Chelyabinsk. Before it burst in the sky, the space rock had never been seen before.

Astronomers' technology and procedures have advanced to the point that new NEOs are found daily. This includes some things that are extremely close to Earth. However, they are usually so small that they would most likely burn up in the atmosphere if they hit us, as one did in 2018.

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