Nasa Says 'Prayer' Is Our Best Defence Against A Deadly Asteroid

[marcus300]

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013...ncid=webmail11





Nasa chief Charles Bolden has said the best defence against asteroids is... prayer.

The remark was made at the US House of Representatives Science Committee on Wednesday.

Bolden was discussing Nasa's ability to protect Earth from deadly asteroids - which currently is essentially non-existent.

"From the information we have, we don't know of an asteroid that will threaten the population of the United States," Bolden said, according to Reuters.

"But if it's coming in three weeks, pray. The reason I can't do anything in the next three weeks is because for decades we have put it off."

Nasa is currently tracking about 95% of the asteroids which are hurtling in the sky near our planet and are larger than about a kilometre.

But smaller asteroids can still cause devastation, as shown in Chelyabinsk, Russia, last month where shockwaves generated by an 18-metre meteorite caused more than 1,000 injuries.

And just 10% of the so-called "city-killer" asteroids larger than 165 feet wide have been found so far.

About one of those objects hits the planet every 1,000 years.

[The Bear 79]

Not very reassuring eh....

[marcus300]

Not very reassuring eh....

Its sounds like we are fuked and nothing could be done!!!

There seems a lot of talk about this subject lately, do you think they would tell us anyway!

[The Bear 79]

No....they probably wouldn't say a word.......

[Soar]

The footage of the Russian meteor was pretty eye opening. Any larger and we could be in trouble.

[austinite]

I'll be at the gym.

[marcus300]

Could all be over in a blink of the eye!

[The Bear 79]

Is there any guesstimate of when something like this could happen?


If they monitor these things as closely as they say, & as long as they have....there should be enough knowledge acquired to predict future trajectories no?

[austinite]

Is there any guesstimate of when something like this could happen?


If they monitor these things as closely as they say, & as long as they have....there should be enough knowledge acquired to predict future trajectories no?

3 weeks. Better start frontloading...

[The Bear 79]

3 weeks. Better start frontloading...

lol......

Tard

[krugerr]

Is there any guesstimate of when something like this could happen?


If they monitor these things as closely as they say, & as long as they have....there should be enough knowledge acquired to predict future trajectories no?

Possibly, but it is very hard to do. Each asteroid can be made up of any number of materials, in any ratio, some may be big, some smaller, all with different densities and masses. This firstly makes a big difference. Secondly it depends when it is due to it. Depending upon how it enters our solar system, and where each respective planet is, the asteroid could be deflected in any number of ways.

You would need to have a simulator capable of doing this, and you would needs a fvck-ton of data.

[Flagg]

Even if the asteroid hit the ocean you are talking end of the human race and mass extinctions all round.

The reason we dont get hit by things like asteroids that much is largely in part due to Jupiter and Saturn.

[krugerr]

I am speculating though, its a rough guide that the Military/Government are about 10years ahead of the general population regarding technology.

iPhones for example, they had something of a similar capability/capacity 10years before. You're sitting at home on your computer? They had something of equal computing skill 10years earlier.
Thats whats makes all these advancements typically, the latest graphics cards or processors, the technology has been around a while, but its only now that they have had the ability to make it cost effective and available to the public.

Moore's Law.

[Euroholic]

So i spent 800$ getting gyno surgery and a few grand on stanazol/test and i wont even get to show off at the beach? That sucks!!!!!

[Euroholic]

I am speculating though, its a rough guide that the Military/Government are about 10years ahead of the general population regarding technology.

iPhones for example, they had something of a similar capability/capacity 10years before. You're sitting at home on your computer? They had something of equal computing skill 10years earlier.
Thats whats makes all these advancements typically, the latest graphics cards or processors, the technology has been around a while, but its only now that they have had the ability to make it cost effective and available to the public.

Moore's Law.

I herd its governments are more like 20-30 years ahead of the rest of the population. They had computers in ww2 i dident get my first computer till 2009!

[JWP806]

Makes me happy to know that the NASA budget is shit. You would think that having some type of international anti-ballistic defense would be a top priority after all of the recent asteroid activity.

[krugerr]

I herd its governments are more like 20-30 years ahead of the rest of the population. They had computers in ww2 i dident get my first computer till 2009!

Lmfao. 20-30 years would be a bit extreme I think. But you never know!
I always try and think of the developments by comparing video games.
As lame as it sounds this is basically the highest spec of a general guy.
Remember doom? That came out 20 years ago this year. About the worst graphics imaginable, look at today's video games. Could you imagine playing Skyrim, HD, 20 years ago? Lol

[BG]

I saw that, Im a man of faith but that wasnt very re assuring. I honestly thought they would have a better answer, or atleast an idea.

[marcus300]

I saw that, Im a man of faith but that wasnt very re assuring. I honestly thought they would have a better answer, or atleast an idea.

You would think they would have some kind of plan, we seem so fragile now

[Flagg]

Nature is all about cycles, and even rebooting.

Mankind has become arrogant to the point where we think we can defy the natural order of things and that we are beyond things like weather changes and evolution, but a huge fvcking asteroid is still capable of eliminating us in a the blink of an eye. Sucks for everything else, but a million years after that impact, life would simply restart.

Have to remember, Asteroid impacts here are very rare. Only been 5 as far as we can tell in the last 500 -1000 million years. If it wasn't for an asteroid wiping out the dinosaurs, humans wouldn't be here today.

[marcus300]

Nature is all about cycles, and even rebooting.

Mankind has become arrogant to the point where we think we can defy the natural order of things and that we are beyond things like weather changes and evolution, but a huge fvcking asteroid is still capable of eliminating us in a the blink of an eye. Sucks for everything else, but a million years after that impact, life would simply restart.

Have to remember, Asteroid impacts here are very rare. Only been 5 as far as we can tell in the last 500 -1000 million years. If it wasn't for an asteroid wiping out the dinosaurs, humans wouldn't be here today.

Only 5? wooow the odds seem better now. I think we would of wipe the dino's out, a few more reps with those rocks and we would have them killed skinned and ate!

[Times Roman]

this is ridiculous. All we need is a giant Catchers Mitt

[Flagg]

Only 5? wooow the odds seem better now. I think we would of wipe the dino's out, a few more reps with those rocks and we would have them killed skinned and ate!

Hahaha, imagine it "im bulking up on brontosaurus steaks this week".

The thing with the dinosaurs, because they were so big and so massive, the few mammal species that there were, were very small 200-65 million years ago. That's due to selective evolutionary pressures. For mammals, it was beneficial for them to be small so they could evade being predated on by the massive Saurons, but by being small, they were never going to challenge the much bigger dinosaurs for dominance of the planet. This had the added bonus, that when the dinosaurs were wiped out, the small mammals literally dug in deep and waited for the smoke to clear before inheriting the earth.

Interesting fact, birds are the last descendants of the dinosaurs. If you look at things like Chickens, you can see they still have scales on their legs. A lot of people assume it is reptiles, crocodiles and snakes but they are separate species that existed at the same time as dinosaurs and were just lucky to come out the other side of the last asteroid impact that killed everything else off 65 million years ago.

[Times Roman]

Hahaha, imagine it "im bulking up on brontosaurus steaks this week".

The thing with the dinosaurs, because they were so big and so massive, the few mammal species that there were, were very small 200-65 million years ago. That's due to selective evolutionary pressures. For mammals, it was beneficial for them to be small so they could evade being predated on by the massive Saurons, but by being small, they were never going to challenge the much bigger dinosaurs for dominance of the planet. This had the added bonus, that when the dinosaurs were wiped out, the small mammals literally dug in deep and waited for the smoke to clear before inheriting the earth.

Interesting fact, birds are the last descendants of the dinosaurs. If you look at things like Chickens, you can see they still have scales on their legs. A lot of people assume it is reptiles, crocodiles and snakes but they are separate species that existed at the same time as dinosaurs and were just lucky to come out the other side of the last asteroid impact that killed everything else off 65 million years ago.

birds of predation are called "Raptors" for a reason............

[Hazard]

There's an asteroid that's due to pass between us and the moon in the not so distant future. They're currently watching it but they said it will be scary close. I believe someone posted about it here.

I don't believe they have neglected this topic for years. To an extent yes but it's been thought about before. A few programs on tv have even explained in detail how they would defend earth.

The idea is over a long distance we would only have to knock the asteroid slightly off course. An explosion near it or possible a solar sail attached to it could knock it a few inches off course. Picture it moving an inch or so off coarse every mile and lets say it's 700,000 miles away. Just that one inch would push it 58,000+ feet off coarse. Hopefully they can do better obviously but it's a start and maybe offers a little "relief" from worrying for those who care.

~Haz~

[Flagg]

birds of predation are called "Raptors" for a reason............

Indeed they are Bird lost teeth over time but all gained the power of flight and developed hollow bones and feathers.

[Hazard]

Indeed they are Bird lost teeth over time but all gained the power of flight and developed hollow bones and feathers.

They also developed a tasty flavor specially for me

[Flagg]

They also developed a tasty flavor specially for me

Mate, its good to see you! You should bump the "meeting of the minds" thread! Yes, over time, Dinosaurs have evolved into KFC! Finger licking gooooood!

[Times Roman]

They also developed a tasty flavor specially for me

Mate, its good to see you! You should bump the "meeting of the minds" thread! Yes, over time, Dinosaurs have evolved into KFC! Finger licking gooooood!

Ha ha ha

I was just going to add that these raptors have developed an affinity for a certain seven herbs and seasonings......

.....so NOW who's eating who? Take that Godzilla!!!

[--->>405<<---]

The planet will not be destroyed by an asteroid because then the prophecy in the bible would not be able to transpire. Now we could see some devastation in epic proportion, but not total annhilation.

[Hazard]

Mate, its good to see you! You should bump the "meeting of the minds" thread! Yes, over time, Dinosaurs have evolved into KFC! Finger licking gooooood!

I'm here! It's a bit of a pain in the ass posting on the iPhone but this thread coaxed a response from me ahaha. I visit the q&a too and try to help there when I can.

I'll try and bump the science/space/time thread tonite.

~Haz~

[marcus300]

Hahaha, imagine it "im bulking up on brontosaurus steaks this week".

The thing with the dinosaurs, because they were so big and so massive, the few mammal species that there were, were very small 200-65 million years ago. That's due to selective evolutionary pressures. For mammals, it was beneficial for them to be small so they could evade being predated on by the massive Saurons, but by being small, they were never going to challenge the much bigger dinosaurs for dominance of the planet. This had the added bonus, that when the dinosaurs were wiped out, the small mammals literally dug in deep and waited for the smoke to clear before inheriting the earth.

Interesting fact, birds are the last descendants of the dinosaurs. If you look at things like Chickens, you can see they still have scales on their legs. A lot of people assume it is reptiles, crocodiles and snakes but they are separate species that existed at the same time as dinosaurs and were just lucky to come out the other side of the last asteroid impact that killed everything else off 65 million years ago.

Amazing mate, you always amaze me with your facts regarding these topic keep them coming

There's an asteroid that's due to pass between us and the moon in the not so distant future. They're currently watching it but they said it will be scary close. I believe someone posted about it here.

I don't believe they have neglected this topic for years. To an extent yes but it's been thought about before. A few programs on tv have even explained in detail how they would defend earth.

The idea is over a long distance we would only have to knock the asteroid slightly off course. An explosion near it or possible a solar sail attached to it could knock it a few inches off course. Picture it moving an inch or so off coarse every mile and lets say it's 700,000 miles away. Just that one inch would push it 58,000+ feet off coarse. Hopefully they can do better obviously but it's a start and maybe offers a little "relief" from worrying for those who care.

~Haz~

Is that a fact Haz?

[Hazard]

Amazing mate, you always amaze me with your facts regarding these topic keep them coming

Is that a fact Haz?

That was very simple math and a generalization to show what they meant. The principle is the same - I just don't have the exact numbers in my head. There have been a few things I've seen on this. The consensus has been that we can knock it off course but attempting to blow it up won't work.

[Flagg]

Moving the asteroid by force of shockwave is problematic for a couple reasons.

You want to do this when the asteroid is quite far away as the smallest nudge will be sufficient. BUT how far away, is far away? You would need a ****ing TON of fuel to do this, plus you need the certainty that this would actually work, hence why you would need time to possibly try again.

[Honkey_Kong]

Moving the asteroid by force of shockwave is problematic for a couple reasons.

You want to do this when the asteroid is quite far away as the smallest nudge will be sufficient. BUT how far away, is far away? You would need a ****ing TON of fuel to do this, plus you need the certainty that this would actually work, hence why you would need time to possibly try again.

You don't need any fuel to do it if you're given enough time. You can use the solar wind to nudge the asteroid off it's trajectory. A solar sail isn't going to produce much force, but it's a constant force and there is no resistance to it. And you only really need to actually move the asteroid a millimeter or two to change it's course as it travels millions of miles.

[Hazard]

You don't need any fuel to do it if you're given enough time. You can use the solar wind to nudge the asteroid off it's trajectory. A solar sail isn't going to produce much force, but it's a constant force and there is no resistance to it. And you only really need to actually move the asteroid a millimeter or two to change it's course as it travels millions of miles.

^^^^ This is what I was getting at.....

~Haz~

[marcus300]

You don't need any fuel to do it if you're given enough time. You can use the solar wind to nudge the asteroid off it's trajectory. A solar sail isn't going to produce much force, but it's a constant force and there is no resistance to it. And you only really need to actually move the asteroid a millimeter or two to change it's course as it travels millions of miles.

Can you elaborate a bit more on this HK, sounds interesting

[Hazard]

Can you elaborate a bit more on this HK, sounds interesting

Ok picture how a sail works on a sail boat. The sail catches the wind and moves the boat along. It's not powerful like a speed boat engine but it'll move a huge object (the boat) at a slower speed. Over the coarse of time - you'll get to where you need to go.

Now picture the asteroid being the boat. They want to be able to attach a sail to the asteroid and the solar wind will push the asteroid. There is no resistance in space so a huge heavy object like that wont take a hell of a lot to push off course.

If we can get to an asteroid thats a few million miles away then we can attach this sail and if it moves it to the right or left by only inches...... Then over the course of the millions of miles - it will be off the direct path to earth.

Another way to look at it is to draw two parallel lines ( ==== ) - no matter how far you extend the distance on those lines - they'll never cross paths. Now change the angle on just one line by 1 degree and eventually one line will cross into the other. Apply that to our asteroid. Change it's direction by just an inch or two and over the millions of miles it will be off its course for a direct hit.

Hope this helps

Ps. Even you (Marcus) would be relatively easy to move in space. There are scientists debating this though and one out of NYU is even claiming that you have your own gravitational pull.

~Haz~

[Hazard]

http://rt.com/news/russia-billions-a...rotection-502/

~Haz~

[Hazard]

http://science.howstuffworks.com/ast...lear-bomb1.htm

~Haz~