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Thread: 'Halloween Asteroid' on its way

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    'Halloween Asteroid' on its way

    -An asteroid large enough to wreak continent-wide devastation will pass by the Earth. On Halloween.

    Astronomers could not be happier about it.

    Nicknamed "The Great Pumpkin" by NASA, the asteroid formally known as 2015 TB145 will provide scientists with needed knowledge of asteroids — valuable both for the sake of science, as well as knowing how to deflect one if it were ever headed straight for Earth.

    "We need to know more about asteroids," said Paul Chodas, manager of the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "We don't know much about their structure, how strong they are, their minerology. If we were ever to have to deflect an asteroid, we would want to know these things."

    At its closest point it will be about 300,000 miles from Earth — slightly further out than the moon — which "astronomically is a pretty close passage," Chodas told CNBC...

    http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/30/astro...-asteroid.html

  2. #2
    Senior Member Cardinal TT's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by krystian View Post
    as well as knowing how to deflect one if it were ever headed straight for Earth.

    Wishful thinking by NASA
    Last edited by Cardinal TT; 10-31-2015 at 01:55 AM.

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    Senior Member Colonel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cardinal TT View Post
    Wishful thinking
    I don't think it is. The asteroid in question is a few hundred meters wide. Most asteroids capable of doing great damage are in fact smaller than that. If they could hit the asteroid with megatons of nuclear missiles then that would turn it into dust. That would not work with the doomsday scenario where the asteroid is 1,000 kilometers wide but that isn't a particularly likely scenario.

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    Senior Member Cardinal TT's Avatar
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    If they could hit the asteroid with megatons of nuclear missiles then that would turn it into dust.

    The fallout of megatons of nuclear missiles will destroy the earth

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    Senior Member Colonel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cardinal TT View Post
    The fallout of megatons of nuclear missiles will destroy the earth
    Depends where it is when they hit it. They're so good with accuracy that they might be able to intercept it years before it reaches us. The fallout may land on Jupiter or something.

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    Senior Member Cardinal TT's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Colonel View Post
    Depends where it is when they hit it. They're so good with accuracy that they might be able to intercept it years before it reaches us. The fallout may land on Jupiter or something.
    You are now entering comic book land where superman flies into outer space and destroys the asteroid

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    Senior Member Colonel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cardinal TT View Post
    You are now entering comic book land where superman flies into outer space and destroys the asteroid
    Riding the unmanned spaceship then riding the nuclear missiles fired from the spaceship by remote, I see.

    That sort of thing would probably cost billions to trillions and take years of R&D. If there was a 50 kilometer asteroid coming our way then they would probably bother to get started with something like that sufficiently early. If there is only a measely 200 meter one that may or may not actually hit us then maybe not. They could succeed with destroying that but they might not actually manage to.

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    Senior Member wheeze's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Colonel View Post
    Riding the unmanned spaceship then riding the nuclear missiles fired from the spaceship by remote, I see.

    That sort of thing would probably cost billions to trillions and take years of R&D. If there was a 50 kilometer asteroid coming our way then they would probably bother to get started with something like that sufficiently early. If there is only a measely 200 meter one that may or may not actually hit us then maybe not. They could succeed with destroying that but they might not actually manage to.
    rebuke it....

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    Senior Member Colonel's Avatar
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    They seemed to succeed with that with the hurricane Patricia in Mexico.

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    Quote Originally Posted by wheeze View Post
    rebuke it....
    Quote Originally Posted by Colonel View Post
    They seemed to succeed with that with the hurricane Patricia in Mexico.


    That's right, some damage but no casualties.

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