# Giant Asteroid may smash Earth in 2040...



## punisher73 (Feb 29, 2012)

http://now.msn.com/living/0228-asteroid-smash-2040.aspx

What do you think?  Sci-fi response and attempt to blow it up or deflect it?


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## Bill Mattocks (Feb 29, 2012)

punisher73 said:


> http://now.msn.com/living/0228-asteroid-smash-2040.aspx
> 
> What do you think?  Sci-fi response and attempt to blow it up or deflect it?



You never want to wait until the 'extinction level' event is about to occur and then try a new technology to stop it for the first time.  So I say we need some practice.  Blow that thing the hell up; let's get some target practice in before a really big one comes along.  Enough talk, start blowing **** up!  I want a boom.  A big boom.


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## oftheherd1 (Feb 29, 2012)

Bill Mattocks said:


> You never want to wait until the 'extinction level' event is about to occur and then try a new technology to stop it for the first time. So I say we need some practice. Blow that thing the hell up; let's get some target practice in before a really big one comes along. Enough talk, start blowing **** up! I want a boom. A big boom.



I guess that was said tongue in cheek.  Blowing it up vs trying to redirect it into the sun or out of the solar system would likely see us bombarded by a lot of large chunks of debris.

I think we can only accept the Mayans were right about the century, and just a little of on the date.   :uhyeah:


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## Bill Mattocks (Feb 29, 2012)

oftheherd1 said:


> I guess that was said tongue in cheek.  Blowing it up vs trying to redirect it into the sun or out of the solar system would likely see us bombarded by a lot of large chunks of debris.
> 
> I think we can only accept the Mayans were right about the century, and just a little of on the date.   :uhyeah:



Nah, the thing's not that big now.  Blow it up and the little pieces will burn up in a pretty light show.  Kaboom!


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## elder999 (Feb 29, 2012)

Bill Mattocks said:
			
		

> I want a boom.  A big boom.



We might blow it up, but it wouldn't make a sound-no boom, sorry.


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## Bill Mattocks (Feb 29, 2012)

elder999 said:


> We might blow it up, but it wouldn't make a sound-no boom, sorry.



I distinctly recall watching Star Wars and the weapons they fired in space made sounds, and the things that blew up made explosion noises.  So I think you are wrong.


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 29, 2012)

No no no this can't be... they end is neigh...the Mayans said so and that is 28 years to late


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## Bill Mattocks (Feb 29, 2012)

On a more serious note, this asteroid is supposedly about 460 feet in diameter.  As I understand it, extinction-level asteroids are 1 kilometer in diameter or bigger.  This thing is hardly even a threat.  Naturally, if it fell on you, you would not like it, but it's not like it's going to wipe out all life or whatever.

I was jesting, but in reality, yes, we do need some practice on moving things around and/or blowing them up, and this might be a good small scale test.


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## MA-Caver (Feb 29, 2012)

Xue Sheng said:


> No no no this can't be... they end is neigh...the Mayans said so&#8230; and that is 28 years to late


Well that's the Spaniards fault. If they weren't too busy wiping out the Mayans for their gold, then the Mayans might've had time to finish their calendar. 

Anyway doing the math... *if* I live that long I'll be about 79-80 yrs old. See if I care by then or not.


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## Cyriacus (Feb 29, 2012)

Bill Mattocks said:


> You never want to wait until the 'extinction level' event is about to occur and then try a new technology to stop it for the first time.  So I say we need some practice.  Blow that thing the hell up; let's get some target practice in before a really big one comes along.  Enough talk, start blowing **** up!  I want a boom.  A big boom.


Yep.



oftheherd1 said:


> I guess that was said tongue in cheek. Blowing it up vs trying to redirect it into the sun or out of the solar system would likely see us bombarded by a lot of large chunks of debris.
> 
> I think we can only accept the Mayans were right about the century, and just a little of on the date. :uhyeah:


One thing: The Mayans didnt predict the end of the world.
They predicted the celebration that would mark the continued existance of the World, where theyd all feast and celebrate.
Which was misconstrewed as being an end of the world, rather than just the end of that calendar.

Anywho.

I say blow it up. Debris is nothing compared to a massive impact.




Bill Mattocks said:


> On a more serious note, this asteroid is supposedly about 460 feet in diameter. As I understand it, extinction-level asteroids are 1 kilometer in diameter or bigger. This thing is hardly even a threat. Naturally, if it fell on you, you would not like it, but it's not like it's going to wipe out all life or whatever.





Bill Mattocks said:


> I was jesting, but in reality, yes, we do need some practice on moving things around and/or blowing them up, and this might be a good small scale test.




I agree with testing. It cant hurt.


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## elder999 (Feb 29, 2012)

Bill Mattocks said:
			
		

> On a more serious note, this asteroid is supposedly about 460 feet in diameter.  As I understand it, extinction-level asteroids are 1 kilometer in diameter or bigger.  This thing is hardly even a threat.  Naturally, if it fell on you, you would not like it, but it's not like it's going to wipe out all life or whatever.
> 
> I was jesting, but in reality, yes, we do need some practice on moving things around and/or blowing them up, and this might be a good small scale test.



Not likely to cause an extinction level event, but impact on land would likely be pretty devastating. The Canyon Diablo Meteor that made Meteor Crater (once called "Canyon Diablo Crater") in Arizona was about 150 feet across. 

It had an explosive impact equivalent to *20,000* kilotons of TNT. 

20 megatons would be a pretty messy thing to drop in the middle of Denver,New York, London, Paris, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo or Seoul.

Assuming this thing has the same nickel-iron composition, and followed the same sort of flight trajectory, it would have a lot more mass left from atmospheric entry, and a higher explosive  yield.


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## granfire (Feb 29, 2012)

Cyriacus said:


> Yep.
> 
> 
> One thing: The Mayans didnt predict the end of the world.
> ...



ah boo. feast and celebrations don't sell tabloids.


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## Instructor (Feb 29, 2012)

elder999 said:


> Not likely to cause an extinction level event, but impact on land would likely be pretty devastating. The Canyon Diablo Meteor that made Meteor Crater (once called "Canyon Diablo Meteor") in Arizona was about 150 feet across.
> 
> It had an explosive impact equivalent to *20,000* kilotons of TNT.
> 
> ...



Of course if it hit in New Jersey property values might go up.


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## Bill Mattocks (Feb 29, 2012)

elder999 said:


> Not likely to cause an extinction level event, but impact on land would likely be pretty devastating. The Canyon Diablo Meteor that made Meteor Crater (once called "Canyon Diablo Meteor") in Arizona was about 150 feet across.
> 
> It had an explosive impact equivalent to *20,000* kilotons of TNT.
> 
> ...



Good information, thanks.  All the more reason to blow it the hell up.  No point in having weapons we never use.

In fact, what would be great would be to get one of those new-fangled railguns that General Atomics is building for the Navy (great name, General Atomics) up into orbit and use that.  I mean there you go; you get lots of shots on target with something that is technically non-explosive; just packs a wallop.

http://atg.ga.com/EM/defense/railgun/index.php


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## Instructor (Feb 29, 2012)

Unfortunately with the rail gun in space, the projectile would go one way and the gun would go the other way.


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## cdunn (Feb 29, 2012)

Instructor said:


> Unfortunately with the rail gun in space, the projectile would go one way and the gun would go the other way.



So recover the vehicle. You want to take the shot from the apogee of a trans-lunar magnitude orbit anyway, you want some lateral motion to the impact, ideally off the earth's plane of rotation. It'll be a large alteration in the orbit, but not unrecoverable, and indeed, if you take the shot right, you could drive it right back into a 'catching' orbit.


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## Xue Sheng (Feb 29, 2012)

we need.....


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## Bill Mattocks (Feb 29, 2012)

Instructor said:


> Unfortunately with the rail gun in space, the projectile would go one way and the gun would go the other way.



Fortunately, since their mass is not equal, the backward movement of the rail gun would be less; and you could couple the movement to something like a generator to recover some of the energy lost charging the thing up, converting mechanical motion back to energy again.  Like regenerative braking in new electric vehicles.


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