A closer look
Saving Earth may one day be less Hollywood blockbuster and more gentle cosmic billiards. Instead of blowing asteroids apart, which could make things worse, scientists tried a bold move: giving a space rock the tiniest nudge. Think of it as tapping a bowling ball so softly that, given enough distance, it veers off course and misses you completely. Recently, humanity carried out this rehearsal in the dark depths of space, bumping a small asteroid and successfully shifting its path. It’s astounding—our fragile planet now has its first real defense trick against the giant tumbling rocks that helped end the dinosaurs.
