Posted on 03/03/2012 9:46:28 PM PST by LibWhacker
To avert a new apocalypse – this time set for February 2013 – scientists suggest confronting asteroid 2012 DA14 with either paint, or big guns. The tough part of either scheme is that time has long run out to build a spaceship for any operation.
NASA confirms the 60-meter (197-feet) asteroid, spotted by Spanish stargazers in February, has a good chance of colliding with Earth in eleven months.
The rock's closest approach to the planet is scheduled for February 15, 2013, when the distance between the planet and space wanderer will be under 27,000 km (16,700 miles). This is lower than the geosynchronous orbit kept by the Google Maps satellite.
Fireworks and watercolors
With 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 asteroid’s 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 Russia’s Pulkovo, told Izvestia.
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 Earth’s 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 planet’s 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 today’s case, the destination of the asteroid is yet to be determined.
Has comrade obama blamed GWB for this yet?
We have plenty of rockets that can get large payloads into escape velocity. The Atlas V was used to get the 8900 lb Curiosity rover mission on its way to Mars. If it can get a 4 1/2 ton payload on its way to Mars, it can get a smaller payload to an asteroid.
That said, this looks like unscientific scaremongering from a questionable Russian website.
That was a stupid movie. I don’t even remember the name.
Oh crap, here comes a new Tax.
Eleven months.
Just enough time to design a tsunami surfboard and hire a film crew.
I am.
Remember the space nuke tests of the 50s. And yes, A Sat5 type delivery system would be better to hit it further out. But as you say, none available.
An ICBM will achieve sufficient altitude to destroy the thing before impact and negate the vast majority of damage that an actual impact would cause. Plus they are available, deployable and pretty much ‘ready to go’.
No, not a perfect solution, but lacking that, what else ‘could’ we do in the available timeframe?
Asteroid tax?
Is it red, now?
;]
oh man, and I just took a shower too
“What you need is something like a Saturn V, that could put a large mass onto escape velocity. But we haven’t had one of those since 1973.”
IIRC they don’t even have all of the plans for the Saturn V, and wouldn’t know how to build one even if they wanted to. Sad.
The average volcano eruption dumps more dirt into the atmosphere than a rock that size would ever do if nuked. Plus the nuke would literally vaporize a good portion of it assuming a direct hit.
I’m sure there would be some negatives, but they all beat the impact scenario.
rt.com?
Isn’t that more or less, Pravda?
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Yes , but to remain believable they are FAR more accurate and detailed in their reporting than abc/cbs/nbc .. Max Keiser’s reporting is the best.
they must have missed the extra days in the leap years
Pretty much! The Kremlin likes to put out National-Inquirer type stories for some reason! Keeps people from worrying about anything important, I suppose.
“To save the world, send your money to...”
Along with over a thousand other such satellites, about half of which are functioning, and all of which can be hit or at least have their orbits perturbed enough to cause problems.
GPS, weather, mapping, military, and civilian communications are major missions of these satellites.
They don’t have to give me an exact impact spot, just tell me which side of the planet it will hit. I can do the rest on my own...and I’m long overdue for a vacation.
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