3 ms·
From the nature report[1]: > To annihilate tardigrades on Earth we require a mass over ∼1.7E18 kg. The largest observed asteroids in the Solar System are Vesta
by ejolto 9y ago
From the nature report[1]:
> To annihilate tardigrades on Earth we require a mass over ∼1.7E18 kg. The largest observed asteroids in the Solar System are Vesta and Pallas, with masses of 2.7E20 kg and 2.2E20 kg respectively.
That gives you abut 2.7E20kg/326miles ≈ 8.3E17 kg/mile. Funny that WP would give the sizes in miles instead of mass.
[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-05796-x https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-05796-x
- kijin 9y agoMost Americans know roughly how long 326 miles is. Most people don't have any idea how much 2.7E20kg weighs, and changing that to pounds or tons won't help at all. If you try to make the figure more accessible by comparing it to the weight of some very large object on Earth, most people will still think of it in terms of length rather than weight. For example, 2.7E20kg turns out to be in the same ballpark as the weight of Alaska assuming a continental thickness of 50km and a mean density of 2.7 (granite). But now we're imagining the length of Alaska, which is very misleading because the state is nowhere near spherical.
- ejolto 9y agoThat makes perfect sense, thanks for pointing it out to me.