TED: Adventures of an asteroid hunter | Carrie Nugent

The video discusses the ancient origins of asteroids, their role as cosmic neighbors, and the efforts to map and catalog them, primarily funded by NASA. It highlights the potential threats posed by asteroids, citing past impacts like the Chelyabinsk event and the extinction of dinosaurs. The NEOWISE telescope, initially designed for other purposes, has been repurposed to discover asteroids, using its infrared capabilities to detect even the darkest ones. The video emphasizes the importance of continued efforts to detect and prevent potential asteroid impacts, highlighting humanity's unique ability to predict and avert such threats.

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