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> ... the collision also shook off 37 boulders, each measuring from 3 to 22 feet across. None of the boulders is on a course to hit Earth, but if rubble from a
by mydriasis 3y ago
> ... the collision also shook off 37 boulders, each measuring from 3 to 22 feet across. None of the boulders is on a course to hit Earth, but if rubble from a future asteroid deflection were to reach our planet, Jewitt said, they’d hit at the same speed the asteroid was traveling — fast enough to cause tremendous damage.
Holy hell! OK -- do they burn up on entry? What's the criteria for that?
- NotYourLawyer 3y ago> Space rocks smaller than about 25 meters (about 82 feet) will most likely burn up as they enter the Earth's atmosphere and cause little or no damage. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/asteroids/overview/fastfacts.html https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/asteroids/overview/fastfa...
- bongobingo1 3y agoCould we wrap the planet in some kind of space safety blanket? Like say an thicker atmosphere full of CO2 or methane?
- esotericimpl 3y ago[dead]
- ethbr0 3y agoAh, the Venus Defense.
- bell-cot 3y agoToo much work. And prime real estate on Venus is dirt cheap, if you're smart enough to get in before the big rush.
- onlyrealcuzzo 3y agoWhat if I told you I could get you a cubic mile in the Venusian atmosphere for only $99??
- lelanthran 3y ago> What if I told you I could get you a cubic mile in the Venusian atmosphere for only $99?? I'll say you're a scammer. I'm willing to sell it for half the price. Comes with a certificate demarcating the plot as well.
- gadders 3y agoWhat we should do is try and crash some moons or something into Jupiter, increasing its mass and gravity so it will attract all asteroids.
- stormfather 3y agoWe would need a lot of mass. If we could crash Saturn into it that would be a good proof of concept.
- littlestymaar 3y agoDon't worry we're already working on it.
- SketchySeaBeast 3y agoIt's kind of like making yourself a fireproof asbestos blanket.
- celeritascelery 3y agoSo then why would these ones cause tremendous damage, I’m given how small they are?
- DrBazza 3y agoJournalistic hyperbole.
- GoToRO 3y agoSatellites?
- troyvit 3y agoTremendous damage to the boulders.
- marcosdumay 3y agoThe wouldn't, and a journalist is wrong on the internet.
- flangola7 3y agoHeat the atmosphere too much and we all cook
- eagerpace 3y agoYes, those sizes would very likely burn up completely before impact. 10-20m required to reach ground.
- chongli 3y agoWhat's the criteria for that? It's complicated. Depends on the cross-sectional area and the materials the boulders are made of. Ice, for example, burns up (melts) on reentry much more readily than iron! Also depends on the angle of attack. Heading straight down (perpendicular to the ground beneath it) passes through much less atmosphere than a glancing blow, so has a lot less time to burn up.
- mydriasis 3y agoInteresting, thank you!
- golemotron 3y agoI wonder how often perpendicular to the ground impacts occur? I seems that they could only occur if an asteroid approached in a head on collision with our orbit or perpendicular from a higher or lower orbit as it passes or is passed by the earth. That makes it statistically unlikely, doesn't it?
- chongli 3y agoThe statistical likelihood depends entirely on the timeframe. Within our lifetimes? Extremely unlikely for any large impact. Over the next billion years? A lot more likely!
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- golemotron 3y agoNope. I was referring the likelihood of perpendicular collisions out of the set of all possible collisions. No time dimension.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- inamberclad 3y agoNot to mention asteroids made of iron would be much harder to knock boulders off of.
- K0balt 3y agoTo/dr the small ones probably will, but it depends on the angle of approach, their composition, their speed, and even their shape and internal structure.