"To avert a possible catastrophe this time set for February 2013 scientists suggest confronting asteroid 2012 DA14 with either paint or big guns. The stickler is that time has long run out to build a spaceship to carry out the operation. (*)NASA's data shows the 60-meter asteroid, spotted by Spanish stargazers in February, will whistle by Earth in 11 months. Its trajectory will bring it within a hairs breadth of our planet, raising fears of a possible collision. The asteroid, known as DA14, will pass by our planet in February 2013 at a distance of under 27,000 km (16,700 miles). This is closer than the geosynchronous orbit of some satellites. There is a possibility the asteroid will collide with Earth, but further calculation is required to estimate the potential threat and work out how to avert possible disaster, NASA expert Dr. David Dunham told students at Russias University of Electronics and Mathematics. The Earths gravitational field will alter the asteroids path significantly. Further scrupulous calculation is required to estimate the threat of collision, said Dr. Dunham, as transcribed by Russias Izvestia. The asteroid may break into dozens of small pieces, or several large lumps may split from it and burn up in the atmosphere. The type of the asteroid and its mineral structure can be determined by spectral analysis. This will help predict its behavior in the atmosphere and what should be done to prevent the potential threat, said Dr. Dunham. In the event of a collision, scientists have calculated that the energy released would equate to the destructive power of a thermo-nuclear bomb. In response to the threat, scientists have come up with some ingenious methods to avert a potential disaster. (*)Fireworks and watercolorsWith the asteroid zooming that low, it will be too late to do anything with it besides trying to predict its final destination and the consequences of impact. A spaceship is needed, experts agree. It could shoot the rock down or just crash into it, either breaking the asteroid into debris or throwing it off course. We could paint it, says NASA expert David Dunham. Paint would affect the asteroids ability to reflect sunlight, changing its temperature and altering its spin. The asteroid would stalk off its current course, but this could also make the boulder even more dangerous when it comes back in 2056, Aleksandr Devaytkin, the head of the observatory in Russias Pulkovo, told Izvestia. 2012 DA14 orbit diagram Spaceship impossible?Whatever the mission, building a spaceship to deal with 2012 DA14 will take two years at least. The asteroid has proven a bitter discovery. It has been circling in orbit for three years already, crossing Earths path several times, says space analyst Sergey Naroenkov from the Russian Academy of Sciences. It seems that spotting danger from outer space is still the area where mere chance reigns, while asteroid defense systems exist only in drafts. Still, prospects of meeting 2012 DA14 are not all doom and gloom. The asteroid may split into pieces entering the atmosphere. In this case, most part of it will never reach the planets surface, remarks Dunham. But if the entire asteroid is to crash into the planet, the impact will be as hard as in the Tunguska blast, which in 1908 knocked down trees over a total area of 2,150 sq km (830 sq miles) in Siberia. This is almost the size of Luxembourg. In todays case, the destination of the asteroid is yet to be determined." http://rt.com/news/paint-asteroid-earth-nasa-767/ Hmmmmmmmmmm................
Granny says, "Dat's right, just like dat - SPLAT! - we all gonna die... Asteroid Warning System: Report Calls For International Effort To Avert Possible Catastrophe 6/08/2012 - The nations of the world need to work together to develop a warning and communication system that could mitigate the worst effects of a catastrophic asteroid strike, a new report stresses.
Asteroids that small are very hard to detect because their small size means they don't reflect much light. The silver lining, for the planet in general anyway, is that they aren't large enough to cause a planetary extinction, though localized damage would still be high.
Yea... ... Granny wantin' to know... ... if dat asteroid lands in yer backyard... ... can ya keep it an' charge admission to see it?
Depends entirely where and what they hit. A small asteroid hitting Krakatoa or Yellowstone could have significant consequences in lieu of hitting in the middle of the Pacific...
I suppose that is an interesting point I hadn't considered. I wonder what the effects of a hit on areas like that would be?
Granny says, "Dat's good - now dey can catch `em when dem space aliens flingin' `em at us... NASA identifies potential asteroids it could capture Fri, Sep 13, 2013 - NASA has narrowed its hunt for an asteroid to capture to three, the US space agency said on Wednesday.
I wondered years ago if comet or asteroid impacts could cause earthquakes by triggering an release of stored seismic energy in a fault line etc. The answer seems to be YES. Anyway, If DA does hit earth and it hits a city the devastation would make Hiroshima’s destruction by puny A bomb* pale in comparison, if it hit in the pacific there could be a tidal wave, yellow stone, what if it triggers the super volcano underneath? That would be when we POHBOLAKOAG...put our heads between our legs and kiss our *ss goodbye. I am far from qualified to answer the questions but its fun to speculate. Oh the Yellowstone thing? DA14 is probably too small to cause an eruption. Asteroid impacts cause crustal crisis: study › News in Science (ABC ... www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2010/04/07/2866114.htm - Cached - Similar Apr 7, 2010 ... The researchers believe early asteroid impacts pierced the Earth's crust, ... "They can result in volcanic activity, seismic activity triggering... reva
Catchin' a falling star... NASA Hopes to Catch an Asteroid September 14, 2016 - If all goes well, NASA will launch one of its most audacious missions in less than a decade. See also: Study: Pluto 'Spray-painting' Poles of its Big Moon Charon September 14, 2016 — A new study finds that Pluto is “spray-painting” the red poles of its big moon Charon.
You don't need any qualifications to speculate, as is proved by cosmologists every time they open their collective mouths; all you need is a colourful imagination, and the ability to communicate it as if to children. The latest from them this morning: "Astronomers have discovered signs of a baby planet developing around another star." 'a baby planet'? And only 'signs of it'? What does 'signs of it' mean? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-37364889
It means they can't actually see the planet directly but they can see the effects that planet has on it's host star and the disk of dust and gas that surrounds it. By baby, they simply mean that it is young and still forming since established planets tend to clear out the protoplanetary disk and this star still has one.
