Asteroids and asteroids: should we be afraid of celestial bodies
Hypochondriacal people have one phobia: several asteroids made earthlings worry in 2025. So, in August and September, one such celestial body flew past our planet, and in October there were two of them. Izvestia investigated whether it was worth worrying about asteroids, whether they affected the health of earthlings, and how likely a collision with these space travelers was.
Can asteroids fall to Earth
Asteroids are called stony bodies left over from the time of the formation of the planets of the Solar System, explained Svyatoslav Litvinov, Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Radioelectronic Systems and Complexes of the RTU MIREA. Most of them are concentrated in the area between Jupiter and Mars, forming the so-called main asteroid belt.
— The gravitational influence of large planets sometimes changes their orbits, sending some objects into the inner part of the Solar System — closer to the Earth, — says Svyatoslav Litvinov. — Collisions of the Earth with similar bodies are an integral part of its history, as can be seen from the example of numerous craters on the Moon's surface and as evidenced by geological deposits.
According to the scientist, statistics clearly indicate the relationship between the frequency of falls and the size of celestial bodies. Small dust particles burn up in the atmosphere every day, while objects with a diameter of several meters reach the surface about once a decade. Large bodies, whose fall can cause significant consequences, encounter the planet at intervals of hundreds of thousands or millions of years.
— To determine the degree of danger of an asteroid, experts analyze two key parameters: its size and the minimum distance to Earth's orbit. The international scientific community, including Russian institutes, constantly monitors and catalogues such objects," Litvinov continues.
The Turin Scale is a universal tool for threat classification. The scientist explains that it takes into account the kinetic energy of a possible collision and its probability.
"It is customary to refer to objects with a diameter of over 140 m that can approach the Earth at a distance of less than 7.5 million km as potentially dangerous," Litvinov comments. — Such dimensions are already comparable to the scale of a regional disaster in the event of a fall. A fall of a body measuring more than a kilometer can cause global consequences, however, almost all such large objects in near-Earth space have already been discovered and entered into the registry. Their orbits are well studied and do not portend catastrophic collisions in the foreseeable future.
The scientist reassures those who are haunted by celestial bodies, saying that at the moment all known asteroids, including those whose approach is reported in the news, have a zero risk index on the Turin scale.
Svyatoslav Litvinov emphasizes that serious concerns can only be caused by a scenario in which reputable international scientific centers officially confirm the high probability of a collision with a massive object. And since there are no such forecasts today, there is nothing to worry about.
— Modern surveillance systems, including Russian optical and radar complexes, allow us to calculate the orbits of bodies with high accuracy for centuries to come. The main task of scientists is to detect as yet unknown asteroids of medium size (from 50 to 300 m), which remains a technically difficult but solvable task.
The means of observing celestial bodies are constantly being improved, which makes the picture of near-Earth space more and more detailed, guaranteeing the safety of earthlings.
Why does my head hurt?
Denis Prokofiev, a general practitioner, cardiologist, and holder of the status of "Moscow Doctor", compares a person to a walking hydrometeorological station, which, in fact, can predict the weather. But only if there are no chronic diseases such as hypertension, intracranial hypertension, or eye diseases. These ailments should be treated immediately, not just to monitor their changes.
"But if you imagine an absolutely healthy person and measure their physiological parameters, such as body temperature, heart rate, arterial and intraocular pressure, and then analyze these data, they can serve as an indicator of changes in weather conditions and the effects of any objects in the Solar System on the body," says the expert.
Without the purity of such an experiment, it is difficult to confirm or refute 100% the theory about the influence of the same celestial bodies on human health. But this area is not occupied by anyone today, such observations are not carried out, Prokofiev notes. All indicators are usually measured against the background of malfunctions in the body, that is, during the period of exacerbation of some problems.
— Meanwhile, there is a huge class of drugs called adaptogens. They allow a person to feel better when the oxygen concentration in the air decreases, with increased physical exertion, and when changing time zones. Therefore, of course, the direction that we are currently discussing has a certain development in the future," says Denis Prokofiev.
Some of the most pronounced weather changes that a person feels are magnetic storms, fluctuations in atmospheric pressure, increased humidity and solar radiation, the expert emphasizes. It is no coincidence that these indicators are usually included in the weather forecast summary. The human body has a huge number of so-called baroreceptors (branched nerve endings), which are responsible for regulating blood pressure, as well as thermoreceptors that respond to temperature signals from the environment.
"Virtually anyone, knowing the specifics of the weather's effect on their body, can make a health forecast for themselves by comparing meteorological forecast data with changes in physiological parameters," comments Denis Prokofiev. — And if you understand what exactly affects the body, then you can conduct preventive courses to prevent the development of hypertensive crises, cephalgia and other problems.
From the point of view of a cardiologist, it is fundamentally wrong to assert that meteorological dependence does not exist and atmospheric phenomena do not have any effect on human health. Practitioners know that patients are more likely to complain about their health during natural disasters. In particular, people experience symptoms such as headache, chills, general weakness, and problems related to blurred vision.
"We are part of nature, and given the huge number of receptors on our skin and inside our organs, it can be assumed that humans are affected by the weather or any natural changes," the expert concludes.
How to get rid of a phobia
Olga Shcherbakova, a medical psychologist and head of the Druzhina youth movement, also emphasizes that people are part of the universe, we are interconnected, we interact not only with each other, but also with nature.
— And in the same way, our planet interacts with cosmic bodies, with the space of space. It is not for nothing that for millions of years people have been studying the influence of stars on a person and his life, the location of planets, the movements of the Moon and the Sun on a person, on his life and condition. For example, the phases of the Moon and changes on the surface of the Sun (magnetic storms) are taken into account," says Olga Shcherbakova.
A medical psychologist notes that the movements of the Moon and the Sun have an impact on people, if only because all celestial bodies have a magnetic field.
— Yes, there are people who are commonly called weather-sensitive. And they react to these fluctuations and changes, they feel such phenomena more acutely than others, those with a less sensitive psyche, nervous system and better health," comments Shcherbakova.
A medical psychologist shares the scientist's opinion that the fear of asteroids is unfounded — it happens very rarely to react to these phenomena in any way alarmingly.
— If we talk about phobias, they can occur in people on absolutely any topic — from fear of insects to fear of enclosed or large spaces, — says Shcherbakova. — The number of fears that people can imagine is extremely high, as is the flight of human imagination.
According to a medical psychologist, if a person has a so-called magical or mythical mindset, then he specifically studies these topics, for example, he is interested in astrology and astronomy, directing his interest in these areas.
"But there are people with some kind of schizotypal disorder, so they tend to interpret everything from their point of view and be afraid of some unexplained phenomena," explains Shcherbakova. — In the early noughties, there were rumors about the so-called end of the world, that some kind of asteroid was going to collide with the Earth. Anxious people with a certain psychotype have earned themselves some phobias about this.
The psychologist warns that if a person has a sensitive psyche, an excitable nervous system, high blood pressure, a tendency to migraines and head injuries, then headaches may occur against the background of an anxious state.
— How to resist phobias? First, if this condition causes discomfort, then it is necessary to consult a specialist psychologist or psychotherapist. And, as an option, the study of sciences and areas related to this field of knowledge. Having some information can protect you from various fears," the expert concludes.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
