This Is How Much Space Junk Orbits Earth

Space — the great unknown. Have you ever wondered just how much space junk is orbiting Earth? What about the the number of meteors rushing to crash into the planet? Are aliens visiting us at night? Lucky for you, science is able to answer a lot of those questions, and that first one has a nifty video to ago along with it. Thats right folks, we can now see just how much junk is flying all around us.

Personally, I never bothered thinking about this topic. Why should I care that there is trash floating thousands of feet above me every single day? After all, it's not like it matters. Well, I'll be the first to admit that I was dead wrong. Space junk is a serious problem that people need to really think about. We've been carelessly shooting things into our orbit without too much thought of the repercussions. Satellites, rockets and other objects are breaking down into small parts and often times crashing into each other. This endangers the lives of astronauts, and basically created the entire plot of Gravity .

This problem is being created by every country, yet no one can agree on a strategy to solve it. Little media attention is being given, so people like you and I will continue to thinks its a non-issue. Hopefully this infographic below will shock us into paying a bit closer attention.

1. The 1950's

Look at that. Just two satellites circling the Earth. We are all innocent little kids, thinking that space will always look so clean and simple. It's exactly like the drawings we are used to.

2. All Of A Sudden This...

Like a middle schooler who got chickenpox for the first time, Earth is breaking out. As science pushes the boundaries of space travel, our low orbit begins to get cluttered with hundreds of objects. Even though I saw Gravity so many times in theaters, this graphic is what truly terrifies me.

3. Present Day

Well, this doesn't look promising. Listen, I get it, Hollywood. We need to see movies about Batman and Superman defending earth from aliens. Space trash isn't sexy. But space trash is super real and this picture is truly disturbing. We need to get on this problem ASAP, or else exploring space will be dependent on how well we can dodge the garbage floating around.

Watch the full video below and write to your local NASA representative.

Images: YouTube