Why is June 30 World Asteroid Day? All You Need to Know and 10 Key Facts
International Asteroid Day is observed to help people understand how dangerous it could be if an asteroid ever hit the Earth.
World Asteroid Day 2025: Asteroids are strange space rocks that move around the sun. They aren't planets or comets; they are made of metal, rock, or ice. Some are tiny, like rubble, while others are huge, almost the size of small planets. They don't have any atmosphere, but they can still be very dangerous. If one crashes into Earth, it can cause a lot of harm. That's why it's important to know about them.
To help people understand the risks, International Asteroid Day is observed every year on June 30. The day is observed to help people understand how dangerous it could be if an asteroid ever hit the Earth.
International Asteroid Day is celebrated every year on June 30. This year, it falls on a Monday.
Why is June 30 World Asteroid Day?
On June 30, 1908, a massive explosion happened in the sky above a remote forest in Siberia, near the Tunguska River. A giant fireball, believed to be about 50 to 100 meters wide, destroyed around 2,000 square kilometers of forest and flattened nearly 80 million trees. The blast was so powerful that people living 60 km away were knocked off their feet.
Even today, the exact cause of this explosion is still a mystery. Some scientists think it was caused by a meteor or a comet, while others believe it could have been a result of a powerful cosmic event. Many also think it might have been an asteroid.
Whatever the cause, the explosion released energy about 185 times stronger than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
To raise awareness about such dangers, the United Nations observes June 30 as International Asteroid Day every year. In the past decade, a few asteroids have come very close to Earth, just a few hundred thousand kilometers away.
Scientists have also found proof that about 66 million years ago, a huge asteroid hit Earth and wiped out around 75 per cent of all life, including the dinosaurs.
International Asteroid Day 2025: All You Need To Know
In December 2016, the United Nations officially declared June 30 as International Asteroid Day. This date was chosen to mark the anniversary of the huge asteroid explosion that happened in Siberia on June 30, 1908. The idea for this day came from the Association of Space Explorers and was supported by a UN space committee.
The main purpose of International Asteroid Day is to make people aware of how dangerous an asteroid impact can be. Since many people don't know much about asteroids or the risks they bring, the day is used to educate them through events, campaigns, and other activities.
International Asteroid Day 2025: 10 Key Facts
Asteroids come in many shapes and sizes, and studying them helps scientists learn how the solar system was formed.
The first asteroid ever discovered was Ceres, found by Giuseppe Piazzi in 1801.
About 65 million years ago, an asteroid hit Earth and started a series of events that led to the extinction of dinosaurs.
Most asteroids orbit the Sun in a region called the asteroid belt, which lies between Mars and Jupiter.
Some asteroids are the rocky leftovers of comets, after all their ice has melted away.
NASA says there are over 1 million asteroids in space. These rocky objects, sometimes called small planets, usually have odd shapes, though a few are almost round.
Interestingly, around 150 of them even have their own moons, and some have two!
Most asteroids orbit the Sun in a region between Mars and Jupiter, known as the main asteroid belt.
The largest one, called Vesta, is about 530 km wide.
Asteroid Day is not just about learning what asteroids are—it's also a time to think about how we can protect Earth from a possible asteroid impact in the future.
First Published:
June 30, 2025, 07:20 IST
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