Why It Actually Matters! 

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered what’s really out there? Besides stars and planets, there are millions of space rocks zooming through space — and some even come close to Earth! That’s where International Asteroid Day comes in.

 What Is International Asteroid Day?
It’s celebrated every year on June 30th. The day reminds us to learn more about asteroids, how they’ve shaped our solar system, and how we can protect Earth from any potential asteroid impacts. Scientists, astronauts, and space fans all over the world come together to talk about space rocks and the science behind them.

Why June 30th?
Because on that day in 1908, a massive explosion happened in Siberia, Russia — caused by an asteroid or comet crashing into Earth’s atmosphere! It flattened around 80 million trees in a place called Tunguska. Luckily, it was a remote area with no cities nearby.

 What Are Asteroids, Anyway?
Asteroids are small rocky objects left over from when our solar system was formed. Most of them hang out in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Some are teeny-tiny like a pebble, while others are hundreds of kilometers wide!

 Why Should We Care?
You might think, "I’m not a space scientist, why should I worry?" Well, learning about asteroids helps us understand more about Earth’s history (like how some may have even helped form life!). Plus, knowing how to detect and deflect them means we can keep our planet safe in the future.

 Cool Fact:
NASA and other space agencies have special missions like DART, which recently tested crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid to see if we could change its path. Kinda like playing space bumper cars to protect Earth!

 How Can You Celebrate?

• Watch cool space documentaries or YouTube videos

• Draw or build your own asteroid models

• Follow real asteroid tracking apps (like NASA’s Eyes on Asteroids!)

• Write your own sci-fi story about saving the planet!