Here's good news! If sometime in our future, an asteroid is actually on a collision course with Earth, it is feasible that the planet could be saved by simply firing paintballs at it!No kidding. That's according to an MIT graduate student whose detailed plan won this year's top prize in a United Nations space council competition! White paint powder, landing strategically on the asteroid, would initially bump it a bit, but in addition it would facilitate the sun's photons bouncing off the solid white surface. Over a period of years, the bounce energy would divert the body even farther off course. The already identified asteroid Apophis, which measures 1,500 feet in diameter and is projected to approach Earth in 2029, would require about five tons of paintball ammo -- but we've got plenty of time to get ready!

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