ST. LOUIS — What would happen if an asteroid hit Missouri or any other part of the planet? This new educational asteroid impact simulator that lets you crush St. Louis or any other place.

Astronomers are now monitoring about 2,200 potentially hazardous asteroids in Earth’s orbital neighborhood that are larger than 0.6 miles in diameter.  Fortunately, they are rarely close enough to pose a genuine hazard.

That also implies that anyone curious about what might happen if a space rock that large struck our planet must settle for the Chixculub asteroid that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Unfortunately, the app does not allow you to create a massive asteroid similar to the one that ended the dinosaurs.

The biggest rock you can hurl at Earth with this simulator is a mile long.

The asteroid launcher is simple to use. You can select a space rock’s composition (asteroids made of iron, stone, carbon, or gold, or a comet), as well as its diameter (up to a mile), impact speed, and impact angle. Then, on a map, choose ground zero anywhere in the world and tap “Launch Asteroid.”

If you create an asteroid that meets all the requirements, it would leave a crater 30 miles wide, still not coming close to the crater of the dinosaurs. But it would wipe out everyone in the vicinity of St. Louis, even to St. Charles and over the river to where Belleville isn’t safe, and O’Fallon, Illinois would also be near the crater. 

The app also breaks down the shock waves, wind, and earthquake aftermath. If you would like to play the game, check out the Asteroid Launcher website.