Although much has been studied and reported about this frightening hypothesis, even here at Mega Curioso, there always appears a new detail that is worth sharing with you. For example, we have already told of a peanut-shaped asteroid being monitored and NASA's plans if such a guy comes to Earth.

This time, a team of researchers from the University of Southampton, UK, investigated the worst consequences if an asteroid actually collided with Earth, and the results were published this month in the journal Geophysical Research Letters .

The differential of this approach, according to Clemens Rumpf, one of the authors, is that it is the “first study that analyzes all seven major effects generated by asteroids and estimates which are the most severe in terms of deaths caused”. So let's check it out!

7. Seismic Shake

Probably the earth would tremble, but that would be the least devastating effect. In a world of 7 billion people, there would be about 1.1 billion deaths - yet scary: it's a lot of people!

6. Craters

The collision would cause structures such as bridges and houses to be destroyed and turned into giant craters. However, as this would be the consequence of a direct impact, it would have to occur in a more inhabited metropolis or region to cause real destruction.

5. Airborne waste

As in 2013 in Chelyabinsk, Russia, when a meteor hit, most of the injuries and deaths were likely to be caused by broken glass. What a thing!

4. Tsunami

Giant waves would probably be a problem if the asteroid hits the ocean. Since most people live near the coast, this could generate up to 70% or 80% of human losses. But the inhabitants of the interior could be saved.

3. Thermal Radiation

Thermal radiation would basically roast us to death, or at least leave us with terrible burns. If a person could survive it, radiation would probably cause cancer after all.

2. Overpressure shock

Basically, such a shock could lead to organ rupture; that is, we would literally explode!

1. Wind Gusts

The gusts tie with the shock of overpressure in this murky ranking because, with only one strong enough, bodies could explode, burn or be thrown across the state - literally.

The graph below is part of the study mentioned and illustrates the effects depending on the impact on land or sea.

Red: wind; blue: pressure; green: thermal radiation; purple: earthquake; orange: crater; yellow: airborne waste; brown: tsunami

According to scientists, the aim is that this study can contribute to dealing with the effects of an asteroid impact. The logic goes something like this: “If only 10 people will be affected, then it might be better to evacuate the area. But if 1 million people suffer, it may be worthwhile to organize a mission to change the asteroid's route, ”explains Rumpf, one of the authors.

However, luckily for us, the likelihood that this will happen is very small. Ufa!

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