What to do in case of NEO approach...we have the technology?

This article proposes possible approaches we can take in order to veer these objects away from the Earth as they approach...I believe we can do it now, as the article states...

www.msnbc.msn.com...-BI

If we want to avoid going the way of the dinosaurs, which were wiped out by an asteroid strike 65 million years ago, we're going to have to deflect a killer space rock someday, researchers say. Fortunately, we know how to do it.

Is it just me or are they extremely arrogant?




Quote:
"We are now able to very slightly and subtly reshape the solar system in order to enhance human survival."

Obviously we haven't learnt well enough to leave it all alone down here, why wouldn't they stretch their arms and create more havoc just 'cause they can...?!

reply to post by AussieAmandaC

Obviously we haven't learnt well enough to leave it all alone down here, why wouldn't they stretch their arms and create more havoc just 'cause they can...?!

Some how I feel you are not getting the jist of things.............

If a planet killer hits,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, nothing survives..............I would like my children to grow old and enjoy their lives.......

If we could stop it, it would be nice to know the earth's animals live another day..........Instead of giving up and saying, "oh well..........it was meant to be"........

I would rather we spend money on this, than the damn "war on terror".

Just my two cents..........

If somehow they managed to get that US Navy Railgun into space, mounted on a satellite, that'd do the trick.

It'd maybe have more then one chance, like the second satellite they described, too.

Shame that's pretty much Sci-Fi at the moment.

reply to post by liejunkie01


What happens when what we do causes more damage than what would have occurred? Or idiots like most of the world leaders today get given the new 'toy' to play with?
Are you serious?!
I want my kids to grow old too!

reply to post by AussieAmandaC


You must have something particular in mind to be so negative about research into deflecting a high risk large asteroid collision. I fail to see what negative effect would arise from altering the orbit of an asteroid. I suspect you might be thinking that some kind of weapon would be used when the article basically addressed all of the negatives of that approach, plus I doubt any kind of weapon/bomb would alter the orbit of a body large enough to be a threat if it impacts earth.

The solar sail idea is the best but it would probably take years to alter an orbit of a large asteroid, we'd have to know far in advance of one that threatens a too close orbital trajectory.

We aren't going to move a large body with rockets or bombs, we have to use the energy from the sun to help, and our best technological models to prove a solar sail could do the job.

Let us die. We are only human, we haven't even set foot on another planet other than circuit boards and rovers. Hopefully, if we die off here soon, the earth would be given time to start the evolutionary process of life to reform. Face it, us humans are far too flawed to expand into space without bringing our problems with us.

Just let it do us in.

reply to post by AussieAmandaC

What happens when what we do causes more damage than what would have occurred?

Serously,

What could do more damage than wiping out almost all living things on earth?

What kind of damage are you talking about?

If we just let something hit, there is nothing but damage Damage to what, the cosmos

It depends we have enough fire power to deflect the orbit but it the asteroid is porous then instead of one problem we create 4 or 5. I believe we are only here due to the likes of Jupiter and Saturn they are like the goalkeepers of our solar system and suck up the really big ones before we take the hit. Hopefully our luck doesn't run out

Okay, someone just posted a recent thread on the Soviet 50 Megaton test of Tsar Bomba. I believe it showed a total wipe out radius of (fireball alone) of 3.5 kilometers and a total destruction range of over 30 kilometers. The history also indicates the Soviets were capable of detonating up to 100 Megatons but sacred even themselves with those calculations. Better we never found out, I'd have to agree.

However, with this in mind.....Elenin was only estimated at 3-4 Kilometers in size and Yu-55 is a mere 400 yards across. Both would be within the atomization fireball of Tsar Bomba. So, why not develop a very small, insanely powerful and VERY specific single purpose line of weapons? Put them under unified control of the UN Security Council with the same go/no-go style of control with the 5 ruling members, to insure no one nation could misuse one of them in anger.

It's not like these are a mystery and pop-up threat. Ones we don't see until the last minute can't be handled anyway...just hang on and don't cut that NEO survey funding to find them before that. So, what happens with a nuclear detonation in space at a LONG intercept distance from Earth? I don't believe anyone admits to ever testing it..... Maybe it's time we do?

Originally posted by Vinterskogen
If somehow they managed to get that US Navy Railgun into space, mounted on a satellite, that'd do the trick.

It'd maybe have more then one chance, like the second satellite they described, too.

Shame that's pretty much Sci-Fi at the moment.

I actually like the idea of a railgun...the cost of cooling it would be negligible...Railgun defense against these objects would be the ideal way to go, in my opinion...

Referring to this webpage:
neo.jpl.nasa.gov...

There is a graph showing the known NEOs less than 1 km and greater than 1 km. It looks like they aren't finding many new NEOs greater than 1 km, but they are finding almost 1000 smaller NEOs each year with no sign of slowing.

Has anyone studied the historical record to gauge how frequently these smaller NEOs hit? If nothing else maybe they could use the lunar craters as a clue. The moon is a smaller target, but I suppose they could adjust for that.

I was reading the story and I read this.

The biggest key to deflecting dangerous asteroids, researchers say, is detecting them with plenty of lead time to take appropriate action. We'd like to have a least a decade of notice, NASA scientists have said.

Does anyone recall if we have had a decades notice on any of the other neo's?

just curious.....

Originally posted by liejunkie01
I was reading the story and I read this.

The biggest key to deflecting dangerous asteroids, researchers say, is detecting them with plenty of lead time to take appropriate action. We'd like to have a least a decade of notice, NASA scientists have said.

Does anyone recall if we have had a decades notice on any of the other neo's?

just curious.....

Yes... Apophis in 2029 and 2036. 2029 on the horizons database actually translates to an altitude well within Geosync Satellites. (0.00025449233860 AU or 23,656 miles)

Meet Apophis

This comes by us in January, but no where near close enough to really comment on except to say it'll be back and much closer next time.

One other thing this article reminded me of...does anyone remember the movie Mission to Mars? Anyway, the climax of the movie showed the Face was actually an underground bunker left behind for us to discover...inside was holographic images showing the planet Mars being hit by a large asteroid. Then it shows further holograms of spacecraft leaving Mars, some traveling to another galaxy...The one question I always had about the movie was this...how could a race of beings capable of intergalactic flight be incapable of deflecting a potential asteroid impact? Ruined the whole movie for me...

reply to post by jeichelberg


Railgun would be ideal. You can keep a magazine of rounds for multiple shots. Something like a Nuke or a satellite is 1 shot, 1 chance.

You could arm it with a heavier projectile, too. And it's not like they're being fired at 700/800mph, it's hitting an Asteroid at 17,000mph or maybe faster in the vaccum of space?

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Tsar Bomba is actually 100Mt device, but was downgraded to 50Mt because of the projected fallout from a 100Mt device being detonated would lead to fallout being spread all over Europe.

The problem with a Nuke in space is that you'd have to detonate it far away from earth and hope that none of the parts of what you've fired on enter the earth, as they're going to be glowing with Radiation.

I have a serious question....how accurate is that an asteroid took out the dinosaurs? Is it possible a CME so powerful fried the Earth and then an ice age began? Some prehistoric creatures have been discovered frozen with food still undigested in there stomachs. Just a thought.

With all these wars, economic troubles, etc maybe it's time to hit the reset button and wake up!

See you on the other side

reply to post by FreedomKnight


Science is still out on the whole asteroid thing...although it remains as the general consensus, there is some new light coming to bear on the issue..

Originally posted by Vinterskogen
reply to post by jeichelberg

 

Railgun would be ideal. You can keep a magazine of rounds for multiple shots. Something like a Nuke or a satellite is 1 shot, 1 chance.

You could arm it with a heavier projectile, too. And it's not like they're being fired at 700/800mph, it's hitting an Asteroid at 17,000mph or maybe faster in the vaccum of space?

The Navy electromagnetic rail gun actually can accelerate a projectile 16,000 meters per second, that's 35,800 miles per hour, which is about half the speed that asteroid is already going, I don't think a projectile is going to do much to change the momentum of the asteroid. Also the rail gun has a range, and 12 miles or even 250 miles is really not a very feasible plan, and how on earth do you get it there and power it?

Powering a rail gun in space is beyond our capability.
The heat generated in use makes a rail gun beyond our capacity to be used more than a few times between rebuilds.
The repulsive force of the gun shot in space? Have you thought about that? What is the ballast to keep the gun still, a spacecraft? Both the gun and the projectile will separate in opposite directions.

No kind of blasting of an asteroid is a sound method, you'll just spread it out (if possible), but you wont change the pieces of the asteroid's trajectory or its speed. Armageddon was a Hollywood movie, Star Trek is a sci fi TV series.

A rail gun is not a ray gun, or a plasma gun, it launches projectiles. If I'm wrong about that I'd love a link to show me.

OK just thought about the range comment, that wouldn't apply in space with zero friction. But you still don't have a ballast in space, and that range means you can't shoot it from earth, or the moon, which would be tricky and a relatively short fire window on a rotating planet or moon. Rule out the moon because there is no power plant there, though its slow rotation would keep your fire window open longer than on earth, spinning about 28 times faster.