The Scottish astronomers from Glasgow University have suggested beating offfrom asteroids with the help of mirrors which, focusing on an asteroid areflected sunlight, can partially destroy it and change its trajectory. Inopinion of the Scots, 20-meters mirrors located on orbital satellites arecapable to focus a reflected sunlight on a site of an asteroid in width upto one and a half meters and to heat it up not less, than to 2100 degrees ofCelsius. The stone will fuse and will partially begin to boil, gases pulledout in space "will push off" the asteroid from its orbit to another part.
For protection against an asteroid of 150 meters in diameter, and a networkfrom 100 mirrors some days will be required. To change asteroid's orbitsimilar to the ten-kilometer giant, presumably destroyed dinosaurs,three-year work of 5000 mirrors is necessary. Start of satellites withmirrors, Scots approve, is rather cheap and simple.