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Considering the fact that giant asteroids collide with our planet every 50 to 60 million years, and the fact that the last major asteroid impact was 66 million years ago, the Earth is overdue for another cataclysmic event. American astrophysicist, planetary scientist, author, and science communicator, Neil deGrasse Tyson explains risks and benefits of large asteroids. When large objects impact terrestrial planets such as the Earth, there can be significant physical and biospheric consequences, though atmospheres mitigate many surface impacts through atmospheric entry. But even our atmospheric protective shield is no match against the size of ****** asteroids. Neil deGrasse Tyson mentions the fact that dinosaurs went extinct from a a 10km-wide asteroid that hit the area which is now the Gulf of Mexico. A widely accepted theory is that worldwide climate disruption from the event was the cause of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, a mass extinction in which 75% of plant and animal species on Earth became extinct, including all non-avian dinosaurs. Neil deGrasse Tyson also mentions the feasibility of mining asteroids. Asteroids could one day be a vast new source of scarce material if the financial and technological obstacles can be overcome. Asteroids are lumps of metals, rock and dust, sometimes laced with ices and tar, which are the cosmic "leftovers" from the solar system's formation about 4.5 billion years ago. However, it currently costs hundreds of millions to billions of dollars to build and launch a space mission, so innovations that would make these costs fall dramatically are needed before it is profitable to mine asteroids for the value of their metals alone. #asteroid #neiltyson #science SUBSCRIBE to our channel "Science Time": https://www.youtube.com/sciencetime24 SUPPORT us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sciencetime BUY Science Time Merch: https://teespring.com/science-time-merch Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FMGTVCIDbU https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/new-nasa-mission-to-help-us-learn-how-to-mine-asteroids https://www.space.com/asteroid-mining-bring-space-rocks-to-earth https://www.businessinsider.com/asteroid-strike-overdue-earth-nasa-2016-12 "Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson Visits NASA Goddard" by NASA Goddard Photo and Video is licensed under CC BY 2.0