If the Earth were moving dangerous asteroid, none Bruce Willis could not save our planet. And not least because now there is not only manned spacecraft, at least theoretically able to approach the asteroid and get on it, but able to explosion split or transported to a safe orbit a small celestial body automatic devices. Indeed, in the latter case it should be referred to kilotonne automatic station with nuclear charge that can execute complex maneuvers.

Funny, but in the 1980s with such a mission, unless, of course, had some time to prepare, earthlings to deal would be much easier than now. Then and design office of space technology were much better, and shuttles flew regularly, and powerful booster rocket "Energia" only created, and the launch sites at the "Baikonur" space center and Cape Canaveral was not in decline, as today ...

Now, according to experts, it is necessary not less than two years to build a robot spacecraft that can down the asteroid off course or break it apart and not less than five years - manned spacecraft, which will be able to land on an asteroid (which is already close to the Ground) astronaut.

Meanwhile, the "star Wanderers", as sometimes poetically called asteroids, in 2012, not just flew past the Earth at a much shorter distance than the moon. This is not a complete chronicle of such flights.

In late March two asteroids flashed past of our planet. One of them - 2012 FP35 - was the size of a bus and got to the world at 154 thousand kilometers of Second - 2012 FS35 - who flew a distance of 58 thousand km, comparable in size with a small car. Official NASA representatives noted that the threat of collision with the Earth was not, and the flight day two heavenly bodies in space between the Earth and the moon's orbit is very rare.

October 8 celestial body with a diameter of about 50 m, recorded in the near-earth space in the private American Observatory of Tanagra" in Arizona. The facility received the temporary designation TCT501. The asteroid passed at a distance of 250 thousand miles from our planet.

October 12 - another flight. This time - asteroid 2012 DA14, which has a diameter of about 44 meters and a weight of about 120 000t of This asteroid passed directly between the earth and the Moon at a distance from the planet, about 90 thousand kilometers of It - about a quarter of the distance between the Earth and its natural satellite. This asteroid will be back soon: in the night from 15 to 16 February 2012 2013 DA14 will fly at a distance of 27 thousand kilometers from the Earth. At this time it can be seen with a small binoculars, and in low light background to the naked eye. And this is not the last such visit. 2012 DA14 regularly pass by the Earth, and there is little likelihood that he will face with her 2020 or later. However there something you can say only next year, because this asteroid recently opened (the numbers at the beginning its name means opening year), so the orbit 2012 DA14 have not been fully calculated.

In a word, near the Earth every year is flying by less than several hitherto unknown small space tel. Sometimes these asteroids open astronomers are professionals, sometimes - Amateur astronomers, and at the last moment. Official representatives from NASA and other research agencies soothe the public: the probability of a collision, "star traveller with the Earth miserable. This is true, but it is. Moreover under the influence of cosmic factors asteroids smaller values may change their orbits, so unexpectedly, you may find that it has long been known and registered by astronomers small celestial body goes on hazardous proximity to the Earth ...

To minimize this danger, in the United States astronaut ed Lu founded a non-profit Foundation B612 Foundation (so named after the planet, a fantasy created by Saint Exupery's the Little Prince). The Fund aims to raise funds for building a space telescope Sentinel, which will search for asteroids passing near the Earth. Now there are about 10 thousand of such heavenly tel. "We will find them half a million, I am sure ed Lu. - We enclose a clear map of the entire "internal" Solar systems ". The telescope that will be displayed on the solar orbit close to the orbit of Venus, its equipment will be directed to the Earth and its near space and distracted from the Sun. This will avoid solar lights, which significantly reduces the sensitivity of the telescopes, while themselves asteroids will be illuminated by the Sun. Scientists believe that the Sentinel will be able to find about 90% of near-earth asteroids, will open the way for identifying dangerous of them and anticipating a possible collision over the years, even decades before it happens.

The Fund has already prepared a preliminary draft space missions and to collect funds to begin work on space telescope next year. Start Sentinel scheduled for 2017-2018 years using private missiles SpaceX Falcon 9. The total cost of the entire project is not yet determined, most likely, it will amount to several hundred million dollars - money minute compared to what is spent in space States to the needs of the military-industrial complex or assistance to the legions of "lifelong unemployed". But, like the generals usually prepare for the previous war, and politicians prefer not to see unconventional threats to their people and the planet. Well, the power of civil society, in particular, lies in the fact that it is able to undertake the solution of those problems, to understand which has not grown policies.