Torino Scale for Asteroid Impacts

A couple of days ago, we talked about asteroid 2004 MN4. Recently, astronomers led by an MIT professor have revised the scale used to assess the threat of asteroids and comets colliding with Earth to better communicate those risks with the public. The Torino scale was developed because astronomers are spotting more and more NEOs through projects like the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research project at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, but Some critics said that the original Torino scale was actually scaring people.

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• Astronomy & Space Daily News Headlines for April 14, 2005.
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