Researchers at the University of Rochester have developed a laser capable of producing produces 75 teraWatts of power (75,000,000,000,000 watts), or nearly 100 times the total US electric power consumption at a given moment. Scientists envision using the laser to study nuclear explosions, fusion reactions, and astrophysics experiments that previously could only be simulated on a supercomputer.

A new report by three specialists in asteroid research calls present
planning about how to respond to such a threat \"haphazard and unbalanced,\"
and points out that the person most likely to sound the alarm has conceded
\"he has no idea who in the US government would be receptive to serious
information\" about an impending impact.

A study by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows that the weak gravitational pull of a nearby spacecraft could deflect a hypothetical asteroid 140 meters across, big enough to cause regional devastation if it hit Earth.