Nuking an incoming asteroid will spew out X-rays. This new model shows what happens

An artist's illustration of an asteroid that would pose an actual threat to Earth. Asteroid 2016 NF23 will pass by Earth this month but will not be dangerous for anyone here on our planet.

Last year, a NASA mission proved that humans could change an asteroid’s course by crashing into one with a spacecraft. But if an impact alone is not enough, we do have at least one alternative option: nuking it.

A new study, released after NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission successfully moved an asteroid moonlet, studies how a nuclear device could redirect an errant space rock coming to Earth. (We haven't found any problems yet despite decades of searching, but searching and research continues as a precaution.)