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If this becomes commonplace in the future I wonder how much it will affect the Earth, wouldn't more mass cause changes in the Earth's rotation or orbit? I know
by dhughes 15y ago
If this becomes commonplace in the future I wonder how much it will affect the Earth, wouldn't more mass cause changes in the Earth's rotation or orbit?
I know tonnes of crap from space falls to Earth each day or year, whatever the number is, but mining may bring more material back possibly denser metals rather than just rock dust and in a shorter period of time.
Interesting to ponder.
- Nick_C 15y agoThe mass of the entire asteroid belt is only about 0.05% of the Earth's, and the metallic (M-type) ones only 10% of that, so not much effect. Interestingly, Ceres alone is 1/3 of the total mass, and the big four make up half. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_belt#Characteristics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_belt#Characteristics