Britain launched a task force to assess the risk of asteroids hitting planet Earth.
Published:
5 January 2000 y., Wednesday
On the first working day of the new millennium, Prime Minister Tony Blair_s government unveiled a panel of three wise men to examine the threat of collision with what it called Near Earth Objects (NEOs).
``The risk of an asteroid or comet causing substantial damage is extremely remote,'' Science Minister Lord Sainsbury said. ``This is not something that people should lie awake
at night worrying about.''
Sainsbury said the panel of two scientists and a former diplomat would assess the nature of
the hazards posed by asteroids and the potential levels of risk.
It would also consider how the United Kingdom should best contribute to international
efforts to deal with NEOs.
The government said none of the NEOs already identified posed a threat to the earth in the
foreseeable future. But on a wider time scale of millions of years asteroids had caused
serious damage to the planet.
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
NASA on Thursday unveiled an ambitious plan to send eight or more probes to Mars over the next two decades to search for evidence of water or life.
more »
Cancer medication can be used for late-stage MS, says FDA
more »
In September alone, 29 new HIV cases were registered in Latvia, making a total of 302 new cases this year, according to the AIDS Prevention Center.
more »
Wheat plants grown in soil from near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant have six times the rate of mutations as those grown in clean soil, according to a study in this week's issue of Nature.
more »
Scientists believe fat plays an important role in helping the body to work properly.
more »
A rise in both the number of uninsured and out-of-pocket medical expenses has spurred several companies to form discount clubs that offer savings on prescription drugs, doctor visits and other medical services.
more »
Estonia will soon begin setting up one of the world's first country-wide gene banks where the detailed genetic codes of two-thirds of the population will be stored.
more »
For the first time in 50 million years, visitors to the North Pole can see something extraordinary: water.
more »
The first single-dose form of the drug most widely used to treat attention deficit disorder in children won U.S. government approval yesterday.
more »
People who use the Internet to find real-life sex partners are more likely to have had sexually transmitted diseases or engaged in risky intimate behavior, a government-led study found.
more »