No Politics Here: Earth just had a near-miss with a 'city killer' asteroid

[pcgeek11]

you think there isnt much to be done about a astroid destroying life as we know it?

then he should of said that.

when someone says "Not much to do about it regardless." it implies a total lack of action.

No, I'm not going to believe you are as dense as you sound in those two post.

do you even watch movies?

Good one. Movies. LOL

 

[dawp]

there a a few theories as to what we can do if we spot a asteroid heading our way, such as nuking it tho that's not the favorite, nudging it with a nuke, attaching rocket engines to change it's path, use sunlight reflected off a mirror to burn some surface material, and those are just the ones that come to mind.

 

[pcgeek11]

No. He's saying we don't currently have an effective system for deflecting an asteroid from an Earth collision, even if we spotted it months in advance.

Pointing out that fact is basically saying we still need to get an effective system in place. Such a system would take decades. It would almost certainly require distant AI-controlled probes and intercept vehicles. If an object that would collide with Earth is identified at a GREAT distance from Earth, a tiny nudge can easily prevent the collision -- but the systems must be completely autonomous; able to identify such objects LONG before they would impact Earth. They must automatically mobilize to target those objects without human intervention.

Do you people comprehend English? Expand the nested quotes and try again.

The article headline posted by dank69 says that we "barely noticed in time" -- incorrectly implying that we noticed with just enough time to take action; also implying that our action averted disaster somehow.

It is good that some understand the English Language. Refreshing.

I find it hard to believe that the above posters did not get the "Just In Time" phrase I was responding to.

Just a pack of dogs that think they smell blood. Meh.

 

[Ichinisan]

there a a few theories as to what we can do if we spot a asteroid heading our way, such as nuking it tho that's not the favorite, nudging it with a nuke, attaching rocket engines to change it's path, use sunlight reflected off a mirror to burn some surface material, and those are just the ones that come to mind.

Correct. We didn't perform any of those actions. If it had actually been on a collision course, we did not notice it "just in time."

 

[pcgeek11]

there a a few theories as to what we can do if we spot a asteroid heading our way, such as nuking it tho that's not the favorite, nudging it with a nuke, attaching rocket engines to change it's path, use sunlight reflected off a mirror to burn some surface material, and those are just the ones that come to mind.

Yes, but what could be done now with only a few Days warning?

Nothing.

 

[JSt0rm]

Yes, but what could be done now with only a few Days warning?

Nothing.

we should probably have some fast deploy able nukes as a last resort to atleast break up a big one. Better than nothing.

 

[pcgeek11]

we should probably have some fast deploy able nukes as a last resort to atleast break up a big one. Better than nothing.

But we don't. What can we do now within a few days?

 

[dawp]

we should probably have some fast deploy able nukes as a last resort to atleast break up a big one. Better than nothing.

that is not a good idea, think of a shotgun instead of of a rifle.

 

[JSt0rm]

that is not a good idea, think of a shotgun instead of of a rifle.

yeah as a last resort though? You would spread the damage and hope some would burn up.

 

[dawp]

yeah as a last resort though? You would spread the damage and hope some would burn up.

if you can get close without shattering it, basically knock it onto another path, that would be better.

 

[JSt0rm]

i was thinking something that came with 5 days notice but yeah that would be best.

 

[brycejones]

I don't see any way you could have missed the point by a wider margin. That rock we're talking about was closer.

You had a point?

 

[pmv]

Hopefully the next supervolcano will be plugged at the point of eruption by the next asteroid impact.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

yeah as a last resort though? You would spread the damage and hope some would burn up.

That means 20 Hiroshima bombs falling at random after burning pieces. Instead of hitting DC as an example, it might take out the eastern seaboard. Besides, nukes in space aren't very effective as the greatest physical damage is by the shockwave in the air. If the trajectory is known then either let it alone or use a device to steer it into deep water. This time nothing could be done.

 

[zinfamous]

Wouldn't it suck if we spent the next fifty years eliminating the use of all fossil fuels then got hit by an asteroid.

yeah, we could have spent all that time stealing, murdering and raping and all the other fun stuff because what's the point, really?

...but the reality is that a humanity-killing asteroid would just take care of that fossil fuel extraction problem for the earth on a much quicker timetable than we could ever muster. So hey, results the same!

 

[soulcougher73]

Wouldn't it suck if we spent the next fifty years eliminating the use of all fossil fuels then got hit by an asteroid.

No. Since we dont know that is going to happen we should try and make the world the best we can while we are here. No sense of striving for mediocrity.

 

[CZroe]

we should probably have some fast deploy able nukes as a last resort to atleast break up a big one. Better than nothing.

Sorry. Nukes in space violate international agreements... and it's largely considered a bad idea regardless of that... and it's not something we have now so it's not something we could've done to react in this case.

It's not "better than nothing" when it literally is nothing (non-existent).

 

[vi edit]

If you try and nuke an asteroid and it it still falls to earth are you now just spreading radioactive waste down here?

 

[DrunkenSano]

The only chance against a big one is to detect it early enough so you can divert it's trajectory, the further the detection, the smaller the deviation needed. Probably just plant a rocket on the side of the big one and go full blast to steer it just slightly off course and a class pass by instead of instant death.

 

[vi edit]

We can just slam an unmanned space shuttle into it and fling it at Venus. Hopefully there's no proto-molecule on it.

 

[cytg111]

Yes, but what could be done now with only a few Days warning?

Nothing.

Plenty of fucking shit could be done... it was a city killer right? How many people can be evacuated in a few days. Hours? Even if you cant dave ground zero, lots of shit to be done and prepped around, getting supplies stacked, aid, medical etc.
What the fuck are you on about nothing to be done???????

 

[cytg111]

Do you people comprehend English? Expand the nested quotes and try again.

The article headline posted by dank69 says that we "barely noticed in time" -- incorrectly implying that we noticed with just enough time to take action; also implying that our action averted disaster somehow.

What? English so-so.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

If you try and nuke an asteroid and it it still falls to earth are you now just spreading radioactive waste down here?

I don’t think so, I remember seeing something on one of those what if shows and the radioactive stuff would be trivial because space and stuff. Forgot the exact reason but it’s fewer radioactive particles and it’s spread over a huge area.
However I do remember them saying you are simply changing what is like a high velocity rifle round into what would be described as slightly slower shotgun buckshot if it’s a last minute attempt. Also as of the airing of that show it was hopeless to think a nuclear ICBM would be able to do it without plenty of preparation. They are not designed for that purpose and untested modifications would need to be made.

Also I know your post had a heavy dose of sarcasm

 

[Ichinisan]

Sorry. Nukes in space violate international agreements... and it's largely considered a bad idea regardless of that... and it's not something we have now so it's not something we could've done to react in this case.

It's not "better than nothing" when it literally is nothing (non-existent).

Well ICBMs basically go into space.

 

[CZroe]

Plenty of fucking shit could be done... it was a city killer right? How many people can be evacuated in a few days. Hours? Even if you cant dave ground zero, lots of shit to be done and prepped around, getting supplies stacked, aid, medical etc.
What the fuck are you on about nothing to be done???????

LOL! You'd have to know what city it was going to impact or explode over. That's essentially impossible to predict, so we're right back to the reality of this not being "in time" for anything.

Tell us: What city was this "city killer" going to hit and what did we do to avert that? Without that, how would knowing sooner or later have changed anything at all?

Get real. Even if you could track it well enough to know where it would impact you can't possibly know that it won't break up and impact multiple other places or flatten another city with the shockwave of it exploding in the atmosphere at some unpredictable part of it's predicted path.