Armageddon Twitters? NASA launches asteroid tracker

30.07.2009
Worried you might not have enough time to live it up right before an apocalyptic asteroid crashes into Earth and ruins your whole day?

Well, fear no more. While Bruce Willis isn't suited up to try to save the Earth like he did in Armageddon, NASA is on the job.

The space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory yesterday launched a Web site dubbed that will act as a centralized source for information on objects hurtling close to Earth. Well, close is relative -- the site will take note of any asteroids or comets coming within 4.6 million miles of our planet.

The project also includes a so people at , also known as Spaceguard, can quickly update followers on near-earth object discoveries and flybys.

"Most people have a fascination with near-earth objects," said Don Yeomans, manager of the Near-Earth Object Program Office, in a statement. "And I have to agree with them. I have studied them for over three decades and I find them to be scientifically fascinating, and a few are potentially hazardous to Earth. The goal of our Web site is to provide the public with the most up-to-date and accurate information on these intriguing objects."

The new Web site is set up to offer people information on NASA's efforts to study comets and asteroids, and offers a link to the Near-Earth Objects Web site for those looking for more detailed and technical information.