The meteorite that crashed into Russia's Ural Mountains on Friday left thousands of broken windows and more than 900 injured people in its wake.
It also left us with a renewed appreciation of our precarious place in the universe. Scientists say that intergalactic rock of the kind that fell over Russia is common; another, larger rock, the asteroid 2012 DA14, came within 27,350 kilometres of Earth (a near miss in galactic terms) on Friday.
Would it be possible for an asteroid strike to wipe out life on Earth? And, if so, what are the chances?
The meteor that entered the Earth's atmosphere on Friday weighed around 10 tonnes and most likely had a diameter of around tens of metres. Read Tony Hallam's Catastrophes and Lesser Calamites to learn how, 65 million years ago, a rock about 15 kilometres large crashed into the Earth, triggering multiple volcanoes and throwing up dust clouds that caused a perpetual night for 10 years. Dinosaurs were extinct within a few thousand years.
Could the same happen to us? In short, yes, says Donald Yeomans in Near Earth Objects. While Nasa's Near Earth Object Program scans the skies, it's thought that we still know nothing about many near-Earth rocks that are large enough to end civilisation if they strike our planet. On the up side, such strikes are thought to occur only once every 500,000 years.
About 40,000 tonnes of space rock fall to Earth every year, most in the form of harmless dust and small meteorites that leave behind only a beautiful trail in the night sky. The Field Guide to Meteors and Meteoritestells you everything you need to know if you fancy a bit of meteor spotting.
If you're more the armchair type, though, you may prefer an asteroid-based adventure of the literary kind. The sci-fi legend Arthur C Clarke's The Hammer of God is set in 2109 and tells the story of a space captain tasked with pushing a giant Earth-bound asteroid off course and saving the human race.
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
|
1.
|
United States
|
|
2.
|
China
|
|
3.
|
UAE
|
|
4.
|
Japan
|
|
5
|
Norway
|
|
6.
|
Canada
|
|
7.
|
Singapore
|
|
8.
|
Australia
|
|
9.
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|
10.
|
South Korea
|
The five pillars of Islam
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
