Is space trying to kill us? - Ron Shaneyfelt

Translator: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Jessica Ruby

There are still lots of things about space

that we may never be able to answer,

like is time travel possible?

Or are aliens living somewhere else in the Milky Way?

But there is one thing I believe about space:

Space is trying to kill me.

Space isn't out to get me personally.

It's also trying to kill you and everybody else.

Think about it.

Space doesn't naturally have what we need to survive

when we travel there:

no air,

it's too hot

or too cold,

no ozone to protect us from those nasty UV rays, either.

This all sounds bad,

but what can space really do to me

if I stay on Earth?

What we need to understand is that objects in space

can cause people to think their days are numbered,

even when there are events on Earth

that can hurt or kill us

before something from space does.

So, what are the odds that one of these objects

will really affect Earth

and you

and me

in our lifetime?

Well, we can take what we know about the universe

to try and figure that out.

You might have heard stories

about asteroids hitting the Earth.

That would be pretty bad.

Scientists think asteroids might have killed off

most of the dinosaurs.

Sounds like something we should worry about, right?

Well, astronomers can now watch asteroids in space

and see them coming using complex computer models

to predict the deadly rock's path.

For a while, the reported odds

that asteroid Apophis would strike Earth in 2036

were once 1 in 625.

But, after updating their data,

astronomers now say the chances are extremely low.

Okay, what about the sun?

Hollywood movies like to pick on our sun

by showing Earth destroyed by solar flares

or the sun dying out,

which would cause Earth to freeze.

Astronomers predict our sun contains enough gas

to make energy for another 3 to 5 billion years.

So, in 3 to 5 billion years,

if people still exist on Earth,

they'll have to deal with that.

But today, well, we're safe.

Sometimes the sun does shoot flares at Earth,

but the magnetic fields surrounding our planet

blocks most of that radiation.

The radiation that does get through

creates things like the Aurora Borealis.

Gigantic solar flares can mess with our satellites

and electrical equipment,

but the chances of it killing you are pretty slim.

Okay, what about that supermassive black hole

in the middle of our galaxy?

What happens to Earth,

and us,

when it pulls us in?

After all, it is supermassive.

Nope, not going to happen.

That's one big object that can't bother us.

How can we be so sure?

Our solar system is on the edge of the Milky Way

while the nearest supermassive black hole

is about 26,000 light years from Earth.

That means we aren't on that black hole's menu.

So, you still think space objects are trying to kill you

even after what I've told you so far?

I think I've even convinced myself

that odds are really good

that space and the objects up there

won't kill me after all.

But I'll probably keep looking up

just to make sure nothing is headed my way.