A very important study calculates your chances of being killed by an asteroid against several other frightening things

In what appears first as a rather morbid game of “Which one would you prefer?”, The researchers published a new study which presents the probability that the average person is dying if one of the various accidents such as car accidents, poisoning with carbon monoxide and love at first sight – or because an asteroid giant destroys the earth.

The probability of an asteroid annihilating planet overflowing on the earth is weak, but it is not zero. In fact, the Earth had a recent close call when a newly discovered asteroid was calculated to have a chance of 1 in 63 impact on our planet in 2032. Fortunately, scientists then revised the chances that this happens to almost zero, but nevertheless, the 2024 year old asteroid reminded us how much we are really vulnerable.

In the new study, the researchers have decided to calculate how likely it is that an asteroid to strike the earth during the average human life, and the chances that the impact kills us, then compared it to the chances that other potentially fatal things occur to people during their lives, and how likely they are to meet their end.

In a surprising conclusion, the researchers found that if an asteroid impact occurs, it is more likely to kill you than if you have contracted rabies, according to the study, which was published on the Arxiv preparation website. They also found that the risk of an asteroid hitting the earth is more likely than the chance that a person is struck by lightning, but if you are struck by lightning, it is much more likely to be fatal.

The calculation of the chances of an asteroid impact is delicate. In order to offer an estimate, researchers have analyzed data on the population of almost land objects, as well as assessments of the previous risks of potentially dangerous asteroids and other space rocks which measure more than 460 feet (140 meters) wide. They then calculated the frequency of the impacts by these objects, and compared this to data on other macabre ways to die and the chances that this happens to an average human during their lifetime.

Of course, no human has never died of an asteroid impact hitting the earth, while 13 people died of lightning in 2024 in the United States only. But still, the study “puts an event that would affect the planet (NEO impact) in the context with potentially deadly events that can happen to individuals,” wrote the researchers. “This is used to allow experts and non-experts to place the probability of a neo impact in a mental framework of events with which they can familiarize themselves, such as car accidents and animal attack.”

NASA already predicts such an apocalyptic: in 2022, the agency struck a spacecraft in an asteroid in a test designed to see if we could divert the dangerous space rocks that go to us. Known as the Dart mission, it was a success and a follow-up satellite is currently on an appointment with the same asteroid in order to study the impact closely.