I pay attention to asteroids for 2 reasons. In the late 90s there was a story broke that told about a 2 year long study of an asteroid, all the calculations, and the science behind how it would hit October of 2027. They had it down to an impact area in the Atlantic. 2 Weeks later, NASA debunks it. The reality is there are constantly asteroids that pop up and even strike the planet, or get within the danger zone, before we see them. Remember Billy Bob Thornton in Armageddon, that's true. It's a big ass sky and they can't see it all.

The second reason, besides my curiosity, is that there are asteroids that have been predicted to strike the planet and it's prompted hundreds of billions in new tech, sciences, and studies. We spent nearly a trillion dollars to land on an asteroid just to accurately track it to see if it stayed within a keyhole trajectory. It's not predicted to be a problem in this century, but there are questions still unanswered.

Solar flares and solar storms can be as dangerous to life as we know it. A carrington event happening today would wipe out the grid and make life harder to live. For the older generation we'd have a better chance, but the younger generation born in the 90s or after, they're going to suffer.

I guess the truth of how dangerous our own solar system can be is a real rabbit hole and as a space nerd I jumped down the rabbit hole willingly.