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Patron: Her Majesty the Queen

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The Royal Scottish Society of Arts
Showcasing Scotland's Science, Technology and Innovation



7th Meeting of the 182nd Session (2002-2003)

"Project Spaceguard: Saving Mankind from Going the Way of the Dinosaurs"

Dr Duncan Steel
Reader in Space Technology
University of Salford

In the Wolfson Suite, Ground Floor
Edinburgh University Library
George Square, Edinburgh
On Monday 19th May 2003, at 7 pm

The dinosaurs were extinguished 65 million years ago when an asteroid or comet slammed into what is now Mexico. Since that time there have been many more cosmic impacts on the Earth, of varying magnitude. The last notable event was in 1908, when a small asteroid about 50 metres in size blew up in the atmosphere above Siberia, releasing energy equivalent to about 15 megatons of TNT. The forest was incinerated and blasted flat over an area about equal to all of London within the M25. Luckily, though, that part of Siberia is largely unpopulated. We may not be so lucky next time.

The chance of you dying due to an asteroid impact is surprisingly high: greater than your chance of dying in a jetliner crash. In this talk Dr Steel will show why, and discuss what we could and should do about it.

Location of meeting


Society Business

The President, Dr Stuart Monro, will be in the Chair

Members of the Public are welcome to attend

Graham Rule, Secretary
0131 667 0647
secretary@rssa.org.uk


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