A stunning video developed by scientist and lecturer Stuart Grey shows a striking comparison between quantity of space debris in 1957 and present day.
The video showing space debris around Earth begins in the year 1957 with a couple of satellites in position. It then moves forward with more satellites and space equipment dotting the frame.
From the first man made space junk (the historic Russian Sputnik) to countless man-made objects, the video is a journey showing furious advancement of space technology within decades.
NASA currently monitors 20,000 pieces of space junk which are remnants of rocket parts and other obsolete and/or non-functional space material. There are also close to 500,000 marble-sized pieces of space junk which NASA keeps an eye on.
A while back, sensation took over online media as reports of a UFO crashing into the Indian Ocean made rounds. It turned out that although the object deemed to make an impact was unknown, it wasn't really mysterious in nature. Before the object made an entry into the Indian Ocean, scientists termed it as harmless space junk inching towards the planet.
But what if a potentially dangerous (and large) piece of space junk makes impact? Scientists have not ruled out such a possibility and it can happen any time. Space agencies across the world now need to assess the amount of pollution in outer space. Efforts are being pulled in to minimize space debris, but looking at the video above, it seems there's a long way to go in cleaning Earth from the outside.
(Featured Image Credit: palcs.org)
