Science & Technology

Deflecting Doomsday Asteroids With Spray Paint Possible

Possible, then, to direct toward Earth too, right?

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A fresh paint job might be all that's needed to prevent a giant asteroid from raining destruction upon our planet.

Though strange-sounding, the strategy would make use of a real-world phenomenon known as the Yarkovsky effect, named for the Russian engineer who discovered it in 1902. The effect results from the fact that asteroids heat up as they bask in the sun's light.