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Over the past several years, astronomers have learned a great deal about
asteroids and comets ("Near Earth Objects" or NEOs) that strike the Earth.
Small asteroids burn up harmlessly as meteors in the atmosphere, the Earth's
natural defence. Very large impacts have in the past been overwhelmingly
catastrophic but are, fortunately, very infrequent. However, detectable
misses by mid-sized asteroids are quite common. As observational techniques
improve, astronomers detect such near misses with greater frequency. These
events are the subject of media reports that create widespread curiosity and
concern.
In response to new scientific findings and the increased visibility of the
issue, the Global Science Forum of the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) will hold a workshop to review the state
of knowledge about the dangers posed by NEOs, to examine the level of effort
currently devoted to dealing with the hazards, and to consider the need for
new policies and possible actions.
The workshop will be hosted by the European Space Research Institute (ESRIN)
in Frascati, Italy, on January 20 - 22, 2003. Unlike many previous
scientific gatherings on this subject, this workshop will bring together
researchers and government policy makers from OECD countries, including
those who are responsible for the safety of the public. The workshop was
proposed by the delegation of the United Kingdom to the Global Science Forum
as part of its follow-on to the report of the Task Force on Potentially
Hazardous Near Earth Objects (chaired by Dr. Harry Atkinson with Sir Crispin
Tickell and Professor David Williams as members). The report was delivered
to the UK government in September 2000.
An international steering committee is in charge of organising the event
with the assistance of the secretariat of the OECD. Members of the steering
committee were appointed by eleven Global Science Forum delegations.
Workshop participants will focus on the following specific areas:
- An assessment of the threat posed by NEOs relative to other known natural
and man-made hazards.
- An appraisal of current responses to the threat.
- A review of the policy-level dimensions of NEO-related issues, on national
and international levels.
- A review of the state of scientific knowledge, including its accuracy and
completeness.
- An enumeration of possible actions and follow-on studies by the scientific
and policy communities.
Opinions about the NEO question range from a belief that the threat is
vastly under-appreciated, to a suspicion that it has been exaggerated by
some scientists and the media. The OECD workshop is being designed to
approach the subject without preconceptions about the level of the threat or
the needed actions. A sober, science-based, international analysis under the
aegis of the Global Science Forum, and with full appreciation of the policy
contexts, should bring clarity, rigour, and political realism to this
complex and still largely unfamiliar issue. Attendees to the NEO workshop
will be invited by governmental delegations to the Global Science Forum, and
by the international steering committee.
More info: OECD
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