Forget DART, nuclear bomb, Asteroid can be pushed by SUNLIGHT! 

Asteroids are dangerous and destructive and what makes them doubly so is that they are unpredictable. (Pixabay)

That is why NASA has its eye on most asteroids coming close to the Earth and it has prepared many plans to try and avoid or destroy an asteroid that threatens to impact Earth. (Pexels)

This includes the recent DART mission, which moved an asteroid from its orbit by crashing a spacecraft into it. (NASA)

But did you know that sunlight too can move asteroids? Well, yes it can. In fact, sunlight can push asteroids away from their orbit. NASA explains. (Pixabay)

Scientists think that a force called the Yarkovsky effect might be an important part of the answer. (Pixabay)

During the day, the surface of the asteroid is illuminated by the Sun, so it absorbs heat and grows warmer. (Pixabay)

During the night, however, the surface cools down, emitting the heat it absorbed as radiation. (Pixabay)

This radiation exerts a force on the asteroid, acting as a sort of mini-thruster that can slowly change the asteroid's direction over time. NASA adds that on larger asteroids this doesn't amount to much, but on small ones it can make a pretty large change over time. (Pixabay)

Because the surface emits the most heat radiation at the end of the day, the direction the asteroid rotates can ultimately determine what happens in the long run. (Pixabay)