Archive · 8 Aug 2025
Study: Asteroid Death Chance Higher Than Rabies
Scientists studied how likely it is to die from an asteroid compared to other things, like getting rabies.
They found that you're slightly more likely to be killed by an asteroid than rabies, but both are rare.
The study looked at asteroids near Earth and how often they might hit.
This helps people understand the risks of everyday events, similar to considering the chances of a car crash or lightning strike.
This research aims to put asteroid risks into perspective.
Study compares the risk of asteroid deaths with other causes.
Asteroid strikes are statistically more likely to cause death than rabies.
Researchers analyzed data on near-Earth objects to assess impact risks.
Impact frequency was compared with deaths from other events.
NASA has been preparing for asteroid threats, such as with the DART mission.
- Who
- Study authors gathered data on Near-Earth objects.
- What
- A study comparing the probability of death from asteroid impacts to other causes.
- When
- The study was recently published on the preprint website arXiv.
- Where
- The study analyzed events on Earth.
- Why
- To understand and contextualize the risk of asteroid impacts.
- Main Focus
- Asteroid Impact Risk
- Compared Risks
- Rabies, lightning, car accidents, etc.
- Asteroid Size Considered
- Over 460 feet wide
- DART Mission
- Successfully impacted asteroid Dimorphos