A scientist warned that a massive asteroid hitting Earth and causing an extinction-level event is inevitable. Since the planet does not yet have a concrete asteroid-defense system in place, the scientist called on amateur astronomers to hunt down potentially hazardous space rocks.

According to Professor Alan Fitzsimmons of Queen’s University in Belfast, Earth is in constant danger of getting hit by an asteroid that’s massive enough to cause an extinction-level event. The only way to avoid this would be to immediately put up a system that’s designed to save Earth from a potential asteroid impact.

Currently, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are working on a joint mission that aims to deflect an asteroid. For this mission, the two agencies will target the natural satellite of the asteroid known as Didymos.

If the mission is successful, it could serve as Earth’s first planetary defense against a killer asteroid. For Fitzsimmons, this would be a vital factor in preventing an inevitable asteroid strike on Earth.

“We will get a serious asteroid impact sometime,” he told the BBC. “It may not be in our lifetime, but mother nature controls when that will happen. We will need to do something about it. We'll need to move that asteroid so it misses us and doesn't hit us.”

Currently, NASA is trying to track around 2,000 space rocks that approach Earth daily. Aside from these, the agency also has to be on the lookout for unidentified asteroids, comets and meteors that might hit Earth.

Because of this, Fitzsimmons called on amateur astronomers to help NASA and the ESA in keeping track of asteroids that could endanger Earth. The professor noted that amateur astronomers can assist the agencies in identifying new asteroids and monitoring space rocks that are known to approach Earth.

“Asteroid research is one area of astronomy where amateur observes continue to make an essential contribution,” he said. “There are many out there both in Ireland, the UK, Europe and around the world who regularly track asteroids and even measure how their brightness changes with time.”

“That's particularly what we're looking for - these advanced amateurs,” he added.

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