Spray-painting an asteroid

Did you know that spray-painting an asteroid might alter its path (and save Earth!)? It's called the "Yarkovsky Effect."

In 1902, Ivan Yarkovsky suggested that the daily heating of an object rotating in space could exert a small force on the object. By spray painting a certain part of an asteroid or all of it, either with light or dark paint (depending on what you want to do), you can modify its trajectory and gently, oh-so-gently, push it into a safer trajectory. This isn't the kind of technique that would be used when there's imminent danger, but it could be used as a preventive way to nudge near Earth objects away from the only planet we have.
Learn more here >> http://bit.ly/14NEpw2