The asteroids would cause catastrophic damage, on a city-sized scale or larger. Research from the University of Southhampton has identified the countries most likely to be worst hit. They have identified for the first time those which will suffer catastrophic loss of life or be so crippled it will be almost impossible for them to recover. Nasa's Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer has sampled 107 'potentially hazardous' asteroids near Earth - 330ft wide or larger - to make estimates about how many are out there - and the figure is a terrifying 47,000. Nasa's Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer has sampled 107 'potentially hazardous asteroids' - PHAs - as shown in this diagram illustrating their orbits crossing Earth . Nasa's NEOWISE project has identified 47,000 potentially hazardous asteroids . The WISE survey now estimates there are 47,000 'potentially hazardous' asteroids. The top 10 countries most likely to be affected are, in in no particular order: . The PHAs - potentially hazardous asteroids - have the closest orbits to Earth's, coming within five million miles  and they are big enough to survive passing through Earth's atmosphere and cause damage on a regional, or greater, scale.The new results come from the asteroid-hunting portion of the WISE mission, called NEOWISE. The project sampled 107 PHAs to make predictions about the entire population as a whole. Findings indicate there are roughly 4,700 PHAs, plus or minus 1,500, with diameters larger than 330 feet . So far, an estimated 20 to 30 percent of these objects have been found. Scientists have also drawn up a league table of the countries which will be worst affected in the event of an asteroid strike. They have identified for the first time those which will suffer catastrophic loss of life or be so crippled it will be almost impossible for them to recover. The list has been compiled by researchers from the University of Southampton using software called called NEOimpactor, short for NASA's ‘NEO’ or Near Earth Object programme. Overall the top ten countries most at risk are: China, Indonesia, India, Japan, the U.S, the Philippines, Italy, the U.K, Brazil and Nigeria.'The NEOWISE analysis shows us we've made a good start at finding those objects that truly represent an impact hazard to Earth,' said Lindley Johnson, program executive for the Near-Earth Object Observation Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. 'But we've many more to find, and it will take a concerted effort during the next couple of decades to find all of them that could do serious damage or be a mission destination in the future.' 'The NEOWISE analysis shows us we've made a good start at finding those objects that truly represent an impact hazard to Earth,' said Lindley Johnson, program executive for the Near-Earth Object Observation Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington . The PHAs - potentially hazardous asteroids - have the closest orbits to Earth's, coming within five million miles  and they are big enough to survive passing through Earth's atmosphere and cause damage on a regional, or greater, scale . The new analysis also suggests that about twice as many PHAs as previously thought are likely to reside in 'lower incination' orbits, which are more aligned with the plane of Earth's orbit. Asteroids with lower-inclination orbits would be more likely to encounter Earth. They would also be easier to reach. The results therefore suggest more near-Earth objects might be available for future robotic or human missions.Amy Mainzer  at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. 'Everything we can learn about these objects helps us understand their origins and fate. Our team was surprised to find the overabundance of low-inclination PHAs. Because they will tend to make more close approaches to Earth, these targets can provide the best opportunities for the next generation of human and robotic exploration.'The discovery that many PHAs tend to be bright says something about their composition; they are more likely to be either stony, like granite, or metallic. This type of information is important in assessing the space rocks' potential hazards to Earth. The composition of the bodies would affect how quickly they might burn up in our atmosphere if an encounter were to take place.The NEOWISE results have been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal.The WISE spacecraft scanned the sky twice in infrared light before entering hibernation mode in early 2011. It catalogued hundreds of millions of objects, including super-luminous galaxies, stellar nurseries and closer-to-home asteroids. The NEOWISE project snapped images of about 600 near-Earth asteroids, about 135 of which were new discoveries.
10 countries likely to be worst affected identified .
Data from Nasa WISE sky-scan .
47,000 potentially hazardous asteroids .
Would cause catastrophic damage on a city-sized scale or larger .
The asteroids would cause catastrophic damage, on a city-sized scale or larger. Research from the University of Southhampton has identified the countries most likely to be worst hit. They have identified for the first time those which will suffer catastrophic loss of life or be so crippled it will be almost impossible for them to recover. Nasa's Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer has sampled 107 'potentially hazardous' asteroids near Earth - 330ft wide or larger - to make estimates about how many are out there - and the figure is a terrifying 47,000. Nasa's Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer has sampled 107 'potentially hazardous asteroids' - PHAs - as shown in this diagram illustrating their orbits crossing Earth . Nasa's NEOWISE project has identified 47,000 potentially hazardous asteroids . The WISE survey now estimates there are 47,000 'potentially hazardous' asteroids. The top 10 countries most likely to be affected are, in in no particular order: . The PHAs - potentially hazardous asteroids - have the closest orbits to Earth's, coming within five million miles  and they are big enough to survive passing through Earth's atmosphere and cause damage on a regional, or greater, scale.The new results come from the asteroid-hunting portion of the WISE mission, called NEOWISE. The project sampled 107 PHAs to make predictions about the entire population as a whole. Findings indicate there are roughly 4,700 PHAs, plus or minus 1,500, with diameters larger than 330 feet . So far, an estimated 20 to 30 percent of these objects have been found. Scientists have also drawn up a league table of the countries which will be worst affected in the event of an asteroid strike. They have identified for the first time those which will suffer catastrophic loss of life or be so crippled it will be almost impossible for them to recover. The list has been compiled by researchers from the University of Southampton using software called called NEOimpactor, short for NASA's ‘NEO’ or Near Earth Object programme. Overall the top ten countries most at risk are: China, Indonesia, India, Japan, the U.S, the Philippines, Italy, the U.K, Brazil and Nigeria.'The NEOWISE analysis shows us we've made a good start at finding those objects that truly represent an impact hazard to Earth,' said Lindley Johnson, program executive for the Near-Earth Object Observation Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. 'But we've many more to find, and it will take a concerted effort during the next couple of decades to find all of them that could do serious damage or be a mission destination in the future.' 'The NEOWISE analysis shows us we've made a good start at finding those objects that truly represent an impact hazard to Earth,' said Lindley Johnson, program executive for the Near-Earth Object Observation Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington . The PHAs - potentially hazardous asteroids - have the closest orbits to Earth's, coming within five million miles  and they are big enough to survive passing through Earth's atmosphere and cause damage on a regional, or greater, scale . The new analysis also suggests that about twice as many PHAs as previously thought are likely to reside in 'lower incination' orbits, which are more aligned with the plane of Earth's orbit. Asteroids with lower-inclination orbits would be more likely to encounter Earth. They would also be easier to reach. The results therefore suggest more near-Earth objects might be available for future robotic or human missions.Amy Mainzer  at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. 'Everything we can learn about these objects helps us understand their origins and fate. Our team was surprised to find the overabundance of low-inclination PHAs. Because they will tend to make more close approaches to Earth, these targets can provide the best opportunities for the next generation of human and robotic exploration.'The discovery that many PHAs tend to be bright says something about their composition; they are more likely to be either stony, like granite, or metallic. This type of information is important in assessing the space rocks' potential hazards to Earth. The composition of the bodies would affect how quickly they might burn up in our atmosphere if an encounter were to take place.The NEOWISE results have been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal.The WISE spacecraft scanned the sky twice in infrared light before entering hibernation mode in early 2011. It catalogued hundreds of millions of objects, including super-luminous galaxies, stellar nurseries and closer-to-home asteroids. The NEOWISE project snapped images of about 600 near-Earth asteroids, about 135 of which were new discoveries.
The asteroids would cause catastrophic damage, on a city-sized scale or larger. Research from the countries most likely to be worst hit. They have identified 47,000 potentially hazardous asteroids