Asteroid Day (also known as International Asteroid Day) is an annual global event[1] which is held on June 30, the anniversary of the
Tunguska event in 1908 when a meteor air burst levelled about 2,150 km2 (830 sq mi) of forest in
Siberia,
Russia.[2][3][4]
On Asteroid Day 2017, minor planet 248750 (discoverer M. Dawson) was officially named Asteroidday by the
International Astronomical Union.[9]
Asteroid Day declaration
In 2014, the workgroup of Asteroid Day created a declaration known as the "100X Declaration", which appeals to all
scientists and technologists who support the idea of saving the Earth from asteroids. The 100X Declaration was signed by more than 22,000 private citizens,[clarification needed] including those who are not specialists.[10][11][12][13]
Although more than 1,000,000 asteroids have the potential to strike the
Earth, only about one percent have been discovered.[citation needed] The 100X Declaration calls for increasing the asteroid discovery rate to 100,000 (or 100x) per year within the next 10 years. It is hoped that this will bolster efforts for addressing potential strikes.[11]
The main three goals are:
Employ available technology to detect and track
near-earth asteroids that threaten human populations via governments and private and philanthropic organizations.
A rapid hundred-fold acceleration of the discovery and tracking of near-earth asteroids to 100,000 per year within the next ten years.
Global adoption of Asteroid Day, heightening awareness of the asteroid hazard and our efforts to prevent impacts, on June 30 – With the
United Nations recognition, this action item has been achieved.[14]
In February 2016, Romanian astronaut
Dumitru Prunariu and the
Association of Space Explorers submitted a proposal to the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the
United Nations that was accepted by the subcommittee, and in June 2016, the
United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space included the recommendation in its report. The report of the committee was presented for approval to the United Nations General Assembly's 71st session, which it approved on December 6, 2016.[25]
In its resolution, the
United Nations declares "30 June International Asteroid Day to observe each year at the international level the anniversary of the
Tunguska impact over
Siberia,
Russian Federation on 30 June 1908 and to raise
public awareness about the asteroid impact hazard."[26]