A warning: we are getting trapped...
Surrounding the Earth, a large group of asteroids orbit our planet very closely. Some of these are made of rocks, but the truth is, most of them are man-made, or more specifically, the waste that rockets dispose of when they exit the atmosphere of the Earth. As of November 4, 2021, 130 million pieces of debris larger than 1 millimeter are in orbit around the Earth, 2,224 of which are both sufficiently large and come sufficiently close to Earth to be considered potentially hazardous. These asteroids will last for millions of years.
These asteroids can take centuries to orbit, depending on the height of the orbit. Others will fall back to Earth within several years. Some are in between and just float around.
They travel at speeds up to 17,500 mph, fast enough for a relatively small piece of orbital debris to damage a satellite or a spacecraft. There are approximately 100 million pieces of debris about 0.04 inches (or one millimeter) and larger.
The Department of Defense and NASA maintains a highly accurate satellite catalog on objects in Earth orbit. Most of the cataloged objects are larger than a softball (approximately 10 centimeters).
The amount of debris that orbits the Earth has been increasing exponentially since the first object was discovered in 1959. Also, a lot of this debris isn't even functional spacecraft - it's mainly the parts that rockets dispatch when launching, as well as excess rocket fuel. Learn more by navigating to the Info page. Note that the above stats are only estimates.
Any asteroid that has a diameter approximately 35 meters across can pose major threats to an area, but any object larger than a millimeter in diameter would be enough to kill someone.
The technical truth is that any Near Earth Object should have a trajectory that brings it to within approximately 45 million kilometers of the Earth's orbit.
There are many organizations that are working to solve this problem, get rid of space debris and make sure that regulations are created to make sure it never becomes a problem again.
This website is very informative and simplifies a lot of the content. Share it or any other site that you think will help. This problem is serious, so take action and raise awareness!
Hosting public events and lectures, such as panel discussions, workshops, and science fairs, can help to raise awareness about space debris and generate interest in the issue.