Asteroid laser ablation
Okay kiddo, so you know what an asteroid is right? It's this big rock floating in space. Sometimes those rocks get close to our planet and we don't want them to crash into us because they can cause a lot of damage.
One way scientists are trying to stop asteroids from hitting us is by using something called a laser. A laser is like a really strong flashlight that shoots out a super focused beam of light.
When we shine this laser at the asteroid, it starts to heat up and get really really hot. And when it gets hot enough, pieces start to break off and turn into gas. This process is called ablation.
So, by shooting the laser at the asteroid, we can make it lose mass and change its course in space. We can basically nudge it away from us, so it doesn't hit our planet.
It's like when you're playing with a ball and someone nudges it in a different direction. We're just doing it with a big space rock instead. Pretty cool, huh?
One way scientists are trying to stop asteroids from hitting us is by using something called a laser. A laser is like a really strong flashlight that shoots out a super focused beam of light.
When we shine this laser at the asteroid, it starts to heat up and get really really hot. And when it gets hot enough, pieces start to break off and turn into gas. This process is called ablation.
So, by shooting the laser at the asteroid, we can make it lose mass and change its course in space. We can basically nudge it away from us, so it doesn't hit our planet.
It's like when you're playing with a ball and someone nudges it in a different direction. We're just doing it with a big space rock instead. Pretty cool, huh?