title: NEO impact projections.
abstract: The concept of a near-Earth object (NEO) impact projection metric (PM) based on the ratio of the observation time to the impact time, rho(t), for a projected NEO impact is developed. The PM can assist NEO mitigation decision-making that is based on the discontinuously changing cumulative impact probability and help mitigate false alarms of NEO impact with Earth that have undermined public perception toward the veracity of predicting NEO threats.
authors.affiliation: Harvard University and Department of Solar, Stellar, and Planetary Sciences, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge Massachusetts 02138, USA. jremo@cfa.harvard.edu
authors.forename: John L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Remo