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For a stunning simulation of what a large asteroid impact might look like, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PENT_hnyO-o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEN

For a stunning simulation of what a large asteroid impact might look like, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PENT_hnyO-o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PENT_hnyO-o

fabiospampinato 5y ago
I enjoyed the video, although they say multiple times that an impact like that would kill every living thing, but we now that some living things survived, so I don't know how accurate that actually was. Edit: They are using a much larger asteroid in their simulation, makes sense.
- parhamn 5y ago
  Heres a Kurzgesagt video with a few more details and a bit less dramatic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFCbJmgeHmA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFCbJmgeHmA
- lamontcg 5y ago
  Those impacts in the early evolution of the Earth sterilized everything, life had to start over again from zero once the surface cooled. Actually might be wrong about that: "Three-dimensional computer models developed in May 2009 by a team at the University of Colorado at Boulder postulate that much of Earth's crust, and the microbes living in it, could have survived the bombardment. Their models suggest that although the surface of the Earth would have been sterilized, hydrothermal vents below the Earth's surface could have incubated life by providing a sanctuary for heat-loving microbes." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Heavy_Bombardment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Heavy_Bombardment Crazy. But that's only the most basic of microbes that would survive something like that.
SllX 5y ago
Here’s a version with just the impact and some music to enjoy it with. Used to leave this video running on various Macintoshes at the Apple Store on my way out. https://youtu.be/bU1QPtOZQZU https://youtu.be/bU1QPtOZQZU
- invisiblerobot 5y ago
  At least the asteroid destroyed that horrible song
  - serf 5y ago
    but thankfully the doric (?) columns and big ben shrugged it off alright, just a bit warmer than usual.
  - phist_mcgee 5y ago
    Underrated comment
  - talentedcoin 5y ago
    What?? That’s Pink Floyd’s “Great Gig In The Sky”! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gig_in_the_Sky https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gig_in_the_Sky I always thought the story was that Roger Waters asked the vocalist to think about death, but perhaps that’s apocryphal. At the very least it’s appropriate for this video!
    - invisiblerobot 5y ago
      Hilarious. Had I known that I wouldn't have commented like the puppet I am. I remember when the Killers song Somebody Told Me was all over the radio. I HATED that f'ing song. But I came to love the killers as a side note. When I found out later that was their song I couldnt help liking it more and myself less.
      - talentedcoin 5y ago
        Lol so it goes right? There was a time when I didn’t even like Pink Floyd myself, and that just makes me smile now :) To improve is to change . . .
      - effingwewt 5y ago
        This happened to me with the Foo Fighters. That mentos music video they did- I hated the video, song, and I hated TFF. By the time their next song was out I hated it on principle. Finally I had to admit I was wrong, they were great. Now they are one of my favorite bands with some of my favorite songs.
tunnuz 5y ago
I hope it can hug my daughter when this happens.
- robotresearcher 5y ago
  You wouldn't rather hug her yourself?
  - yongjik 5y ago
    Aww all the poor asteroid wanted was a hug.
watertom 5y ago
and the only way global warming will get derailed, well, there are also super volcanoes....
holler 5y ago
That video creeped me out! I mean, we'd be screwed. Luckily there are no known astroids, let alone moon-sized ones, heading towards Earth that we know of. But if we discovered one, even with ample lead time, what could we do?
- Retric 5y ago
  Depends on the lead time. We have mapped out most possible asteroids for 100 years which presents something of a reasonable upper limit on lead time. Deflecting a 500 mile wide asteroid ~10,000 miles on those timescales might be vaguely possible. Trying to abandon earth or build some kind of ultra deep bunkers given 100 years seems doomed to fail, but it’s not like a lot of other options exist.
- caf 5y ago
  Don't read about Gamma Ray Bursts, then...
gus_massa 5y ago
Note that this is a simulation of an asteroid with a diameter of 500 km. The asteroid that killed the (big) dinosaurs had only 10 km. That's 50^3 times smaller.
throwaway0a5e 5y ago
That's more like "small planet" or "very respectable moon" than an asteroid.
asah 5y ago
"it is thought that this happened 6 times in earth's history... all living creatures were wiped out... only to begin again..." interesting. If true, doesn't this have implications for Sagan's Equation? i.e. if life is wiped out and it (somehow) starts again, that implies that any planet like Earth will develop complex life forms given enough time? (or am I missing something...)
- MarcScott 5y ago
  I would have thought that the estimated 6 impacts, if they were on this scale, all occurred before life began evolving on Earth. Such impacts apparently formed the Earth-Moon system and the oceans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_event#Earth_impacts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_event#Earth_impacts
CalChris 5y ago
Why is the asteroid molten?
dtgriscom 5y ago
I have to ask: why is the astroid glowing red through various cracks, other than to make it look more scary?
- dredmorbius 5y ago
  I'm inclined to think that's artistic embellishment. There might be some disruption of the asteroid during its final approach due to tidal forces from the Earth. Whether or not that would result in significant heating of the asteroid's interior is another question. Early in the history of the solar system, it's possible that many bodies were still hot from latent heat of formation (effectively: the conversion of gravitational potential energy to heat, plus whatever contribution comes from radioactive materials in the body). Note that the heat of Earth's interior is just this, still leaking slowly into space after 4.5 billion years. Large objects take time to cool, and the vacuum of space eliminates conductive and convective cooling, leaving only blackbody radiation. Thermal management is a major issue for satellites and space probes, particularly if they have a significant energy demand.
MAGZine 5y ago
Old Discovery Channel was a national treasure. Even if they juiced the limits of science for television, it was much better/curiosity inspiring than the reality television rabble they put on today. The producers and sponsors of discovery channel 90s-00s should be immensely proud of themselves.

For a stunning simulation of what a large asteroid impact might look like, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PENT_hnyO-o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PENT_hnyO-o

fabiospampinato 5y ago

I enjoyed the video, although they say multiple times that an impact like that would kill every living thing, but we now that some living things survived, so I don't know how accurate that actually was. Edit: They are using a much larger asteroid in their simulation, makes sense.

parhamn 5y ago
Heres a Kurzgesagt video with a few more details and a bit less dramatic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFCbJmgeHmA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFCbJmgeHmA
lamontcg 5y ago
Those impacts in the early evolution of the Earth sterilized everything, life had to start over again from zero once the surface cooled. Actually might be wrong about that: "Three-dimensional computer models developed in May 2009 by a team at the University of Colorado at Boulder postulate that much of Earth's crust, and the microbes living in it, could have survived the bombardment. Their models suggest that although the surface of the Earth would have been sterilized, hydrothermal vents below the Earth's surface could have incubated life by providing a sanctuary for heat-loving microbes." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Heavy_Bombardment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Heavy_Bombardment Crazy. But that's only the most basic of microbes that would survive something like that.

SllX 5y ago

Here’s a version with just the impact and some music to enjoy it with. Used to leave this video running on various Macintoshes at the Apple Store on my way out. https://youtu.be/bU1QPtOZQZU https://youtu.be/bU1QPtOZQZU

invisiblerobot 5y ago
At least the asteroid destroyed that horrible song
- serf 5y ago
  but thankfully the doric (?) columns and big ben shrugged it off alright, just a bit warmer than usual.
- phist_mcgee 5y ago
  Underrated comment
- talentedcoin 5y ago
  What?? That’s Pink Floyd’s “Great Gig In The Sky”! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gig_in_the_Sky https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gig_in_the_Sky I always thought the story was that Roger Waters asked the vocalist to think about death, but perhaps that’s apocryphal. At the very least it’s appropriate for this video!
  - invisiblerobot 5y ago
    Hilarious. Had I known that I wouldn't have commented like the puppet I am. I remember when the Killers song Somebody Told Me was all over the radio. I HATED that f'ing song. But I came to love the killers as a side note. When I found out later that was their song I couldnt help liking it more and myself less.
    - talentedcoin 5y ago
      Lol so it goes right? There was a time when I didn’t even like Pink Floyd myself, and that just makes me smile now :) To improve is to change . . .
    - effingwewt 5y ago
      This happened to me with the Foo Fighters. That mentos music video they did- I hated the video, song, and I hated TFF. By the time their next song was out I hated it on principle. Finally I had to admit I was wrong, they were great. Now they are one of my favorite bands with some of my favorite songs.

tunnuz 5y ago

I hope it can hug my daughter when this happens.

robotresearcher 5y ago
You wouldn't rather hug her yourself?
- yongjik 5y ago
  Aww all the poor asteroid wanted was a hug.

watertom 5y ago

and the only way global warming will get derailed, well, there are also super volcanoes....

holler 5y ago

That video creeped me out! I mean, we'd be screwed. Luckily there are no known astroids, let alone moon-sized ones, heading towards Earth that we know of. But if we discovered one, even with ample lead time, what could we do?

Retric 5y ago
Depends on the lead time. We have mapped out most possible asteroids for 100 years which presents something of a reasonable upper limit on lead time. Deflecting a 500 mile wide asteroid ~10,000 miles on those timescales might be vaguely possible. Trying to abandon earth or build some kind of ultra deep bunkers given 100 years seems doomed to fail, but it’s not like a lot of other options exist.
caf 5y ago
Don't read about Gamma Ray Bursts, then...

gus_massa 5y ago

Note that this is a simulation of an asteroid with a diameter of 500 km. The asteroid that killed the (big) dinosaurs had only 10 km. That's 50^3 times smaller.

throwaway0a5e 5y ago

That's more like "small planet" or "very respectable moon" than an asteroid.

asah 5y ago

"it is thought that this happened 6 times in earth's history... all living creatures were wiped out... only to begin again..." interesting. If true, doesn't this have implications for Sagan's Equation? i.e. if life is wiped out and it (somehow) starts again, that implies that any planet like Earth will develop complex life forms given enough time? (or am I missing something...)

MarcScott 5y ago
I would have thought that the estimated 6 impacts, if they were on this scale, all occurred before life began evolving on Earth. Such impacts apparently formed the Earth-Moon system and the oceans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_event#Earth_impacts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_event#Earth_impacts

CalChris 5y ago

Why is the asteroid molten?

dtgriscom 5y ago

I have to ask: why is the astroid glowing red through various cracks, other than to make it look more scary?

dredmorbius 5y ago
I'm inclined to think that's artistic embellishment. There might be some disruption of the asteroid during its final approach due to tidal forces from the Earth. Whether or not that would result in significant heating of the asteroid's interior is another question. Early in the history of the solar system, it's possible that many bodies were still hot from latent heat of formation (effectively: the conversion of gravitational potential energy to heat, plus whatever contribution comes from radioactive materials in the body). Note that the heat of Earth's interior is just this, still leaking slowly into space after 4.5 billion years. Large objects take time to cool, and the vacuum of space eliminates conductive and convective cooling, leaving only blackbody radiation. Thermal management is a major issue for satellites and space probes, particularly if they have a significant energy demand.

MAGZine 5y ago

Old Discovery Channel was a national treasure. Even if they juiced the limits of science for television, it was much better/curiosity inspiring than the reality television rabble they put on today. The producers and sponsors of discovery channel 90s-00s should be immensely proud of themselves.