Current Events > NASA says they're unable to stop an asteroid heading for Earth in the year 2135.

(+) Yeah! (+)

WaffIeElite posted...

"Astronomical impact"

I see what you did there.
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Giant_Aspirin posted...

The Admiral posted...

Giant_Aspirin posted...

The Admiral posted...

All you need to do is change its trajectory.

i think that's the hard part. they said the best technology we have for that right now wouldn't even budge it because it's so massive.

In the case of Bennu, scientists have deemed HAMMER inadequate as it would be unable to nudge the massive asteroid off course.

Well we do have 100 years to work on it.

which is an awful long time when you're talking about technology and scientific progress.

i think we can figure it out if we invest ample resources into the problem, especially considering it should be a global effort.

imagine working on that.

"hey so what do you do?"
"oh i just work on trying to save humanity nbd"

In terms of technology it's a long time, yes. However, in order to have a shot to actually shift it significantly enough to prevent anything happening, the alteration impact would need to happen as soon as possible.
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Blitz4532 posted...

Giant_Aspirin posted...

The Admiral posted...

Giant_Aspirin posted...

The Admiral posted...

All you need to do is change its trajectory.

i think that's the hard part. they said the best technology we have for that right now wouldn't even budge it because it's so massive.

In the case of Bennu, scientists have deemed HAMMER inadequate as it would be unable to nudge the massive asteroid off course.

Well we do have 100 years to work on it.

which is an awful long time when you're talking about technology and scientific progress.

i think we can figure it out if we invest ample resources into the problem, especially considering it should be a global effort.

imagine working on that.

"hey so what do you do?"
"oh i just work on trying to save humanity nbd"

In terms of technology it's a long time, yes. However, in order to have a shot to actually shift it significantly enough to prevent anything happening, the alteration impact would need to happen as soon as possible.

what if we could blow it up and somehow protect ourselves from the debris? im really out of my league talking about this so this may be completely unrealistic but maybe?
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MC_BatCommander posted...

Funkydog posted...

MC_BatCommander posted...

lol, this is such stupid news. Over a hundred years from now it has a pretty low change of hitting us?

That's not really low considering the impact it could have and could potentially get even worse odds.

Better to be prepared for the worst rather than gamble the fate of our world on a "Eh, who cares?"

Yeah but consider how much tech will advance in 135 years. We can already land on moving asteroids (or was it a comet?), and nukes are confirmed to be able to destroy the thing any ways. If the only concern with nukes is radioactive waste falling to earth, simply blow the thing up nice and far away from earth.

With 135 years to plan I'm sure someone's gonna figure it out, assuming it doesn't just fly by.

Man you're bad at this just please stop.
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Giant_Aspirin posted...

Blitz4532 posted...

Giant_Aspirin posted...

The Admiral posted...

Giant_Aspirin posted...

The Admiral posted...

All you need to do is change its trajectory.

i think that's the hard part. they said the best technology we have for that right now wouldn't even budge it because it's so massive.

In the case of Bennu, scientists have deemed HAMMER inadequate as it would be unable to nudge the massive asteroid off course.

Well we do have 100 years to work on it.

which is an awful long time when you're talking about technology and scientific progress.

i think we can figure it out if we invest ample resources into the problem, especially considering it should be a global effort.

imagine working on that.

"hey so what do you do?"
"oh i just work on trying to save humanity nbd"

In terms of technology it's a long time, yes. However, in order to have a shot to actually shift it significantly enough to prevent anything happening, the alteration impact would need to happen as soon as possible.

what if we could blow it up and somehow protect ourselves from the debris? im really out of my league talking about this so this may be completely unrealistic but maybe?

To blow it apart we'd need to plant explosives at its core, and that's basically the plot of armageddon. We'd need to have a spacecraft that could reach the asteroid withhuman passengers, then drilling equipment to get to the core, then pretty much all the explosive power we can create. The craft would need to be able to carry all of that there and back, & we have no such craft right now.

It's far more cost effective to just knock it off course to be honest. We can just remotely pilot a giant bomb to hit it at just the right spot at the right time to knock it off course, problem is that plan STILL requires insane amounts of explosive power to accomplish.
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brotrrwinner posted...

Pretty sure humans will be extinct by then

either this or small, battered and miserable pockets who will welcome any calamity to speed up the end

Blitz4532 posted...

To blow it apart we'd need to plant explosives at its core, and that's basically the plot of armageddon. We'd need to have a spacecraft that could reach the asteroid withhuman passengers, then drilling equipment to get to the core, then pretty much all the explosive power we can create. The craft would need to be able to carry all of that there and back, & we have no such craft right now.

It's far more cost effective to just knock it off course to be honest. We can just remotely pilot a giant bomb to hit it at just the right spot at the right time to knock it off course, problem is that plan STILL requires insane amounts of explosive power to accomplish.

alright, that was a dumb ass question, like i thought, but thanks.
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Giant_Aspirin posted...

Blitz4532 posted...

To blow it apart we'd need to plant explosives at its core, and that's basically the plot of armageddon. We'd need to have a spacecraft that could reach the asteroid withhuman passengers, then drilling equipment to get to the core, then pretty much all the explosive power we can create. The craft would need to be able to carry all of that there and back, & we have no such craft right now.

It's far more cost effective to just knock it off course to be honest. We can just remotely pilot a giant bomb to hit it at just the right spot at the right time to knock it off course, problem is that plan STILL requires insane amounts of explosive power to accomplish.

alright, that was a dumb ass question, like i thought, but thanks.

Only stupid question is one you don't ask.
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Oh well
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__aCEr__ posted...

This is why we're gonna need the Space Force.

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Ill be dead, dont care
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i think NASA will be able to develop a solution fairly rapidly as the quality of solar panels improves

a solar-powered acceleration solution, applied over the course of the next century, could certainly shift its trajectory enough to reduce the impact chance to miniscule levels

ion drives and other long-lasting propellant sources would be ideal for this

just requires some funding and investment now, and to overcome the morons who say things like "why would I care what happens after I die?"
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Blitz4532 posted...

Giant_Aspirin posted...

Blitz4532 posted...

Giant_Aspirin posted...

The Admiral posted...

Giant_Aspirin posted...

The Admiral posted...

All you need to do is change its trajectory.

i think that's the hard part. they said the best technology we have for that right now wouldn't even budge it because it's so massive.

In the case of Bennu, scientists have deemed HAMMER inadequate as it would be unable to nudge the massive asteroid off course.

Well we do have 100 years to work on it.

which is an awful long time when you're talking about technology and scientific progress.

i think we can figure it out if we invest ample resources into the problem, especially considering it should be a global effort.

imagine working on that.

"hey so what do you do?"
"oh i just work on trying to save humanity nbd"

In terms of technology it's a long time, yes. However, in order to have a shot to actually shift it significantly enough to prevent anything happening, the alteration impact would need to happen as soon as possible.

what if we could blow it up and somehow protect ourselves from the debris? im really out of my league talking about this so this may be completely unrealistic but maybe?

To blow it apart we'd need to plant explosives at its core, and that's basically the plot of armageddon. We'd need to have a spacecraft that could reach the asteroid withhuman passengers, then drilling equipment to get to the core, then pretty much all the explosive power we can create. The craft would need to be able to carry all of that there and back, & we have no such craft right now.

It's far more cost effective to just knock it off course to be honest. We can just remotely pilot a giant bomb to hit it at just the right spot at the right time to knock it off course, problem is that plan STILL requires insane amounts of explosive power to accomplish.

If you actually blew the asteroid up at the core, wouldn't a more realistic outcome be that it would fragment into several smaller but still huge pieces, which would then rain down on the planet anyway?
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TendoDRM posted...

TheGrindery posted...

You guys aren't considering our rate of progress. What did we have and what did we know 100 years ago? What do you think we'll have in another 100?

A giant meteor.

lmfao
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The fact they have already launched a spacecraft to the asteroid is pretty telling. This is a serious threat to humanity.
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Suck it great grandchildren and great great grandchildren children.
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If you actually blew the asteroid up at the core, wouldn't a more realistic outcome be that it would fragment into several smaller but still huge pieces, which would then rain down on the planet anyway?

It depends how much explosive was used and where in relation to the centre of mass it was placed. Theoretically if it was dead centre or slightly front of centre (facing the earth), that should disperse anough of the larger chunks to travel out from its current orbit. Of course the other thing determining how it breaks up is if there are any faults or structural weaknesses in it.
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It's just nature's way.
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I'll be dead by then. I don't give a shit.
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I'll be dead by then, any kids I have will be dead or near senior citizens by then too.
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Well if we can't move it, let's just move the earth
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Giant_Aspirin posted...

RoboLaserGandhi posted...

1200 megatons

At first I was like "okay so it's like a big nuke, whatever, hope it's not a populated area"

But apparently Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear explosion, was 50 megatons.

So yeah we'd be a little fucked.

just imagine the dust that would block the sky.

The dust would be what finishes off 99% of the rest of life on earth. It would literally take years to settle and it would drastically lower surface temperatures causing everything to die from cold or famine.

Tardigrades would survive, probably not much else.
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RIP Earth

I'll be dead and I suck at getting girls anyway so don't have to worry about grandkids or anything like that.
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In other news the tooth fairy said I'd win the lotto tomorrow.

Too bad we can't fire Trump's ego at it. Nothing would be left of the asteroid but harmless space dust.
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Blue_Inigo posted...

Who cares? Every one of us will be dead

not our kids, or the kids of ou loved one sif we decide to not have kids
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could we have better ways of dealing with this in 100 or 50 or even just 20 years? yes

will we if everyone just says "oh we'll have better ways to deal with it later don't worry about it" and then does nothing? less yes
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Earth will perish due to climate change before then. I'm sure our post-apocalyptic survivors, few of them there are, will be glad for a swift end due to this meteor.
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They need to have advanced nanomites by then that can eat the asteroid.

wikipedia says it has a 48% chance of getting eaten by the sun

Dogs and cats living together...

MASS HYSTERIA
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so i assume as the asteroid approaches these chances get adjusted based on the progressive trajectory?

there must be a ton of complexities in determining a chance of impact.
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With the number of near Earth objects and everything else, I'm sure we have A SHIT LOAD of almost situations. We're just able to see some of them now.

Trigg3rH4ppy posted...

The dust would be what finishes off 99% of the rest of life on earth. It would literally take years to settle and it would drastically lower surface temperatures causing everything to die from cold or famine.

Nah, it wouldn't be quite that bad.

This asteroid is only 500 meters. The asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs during the K-T event was 10 km, and it didn't kill 99% of life.

The planet would certainly be in trouble, but humanity would survive a direct hit from that asteroid.
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Blitz4532 posted...

Giant_Aspirin posted...

Blitz4532 posted...

To blow it apart we'd need to plant explosives at its core, and that's basically the plot of armageddon. We'd need to have a spacecraft that could reach the asteroid withhuman passengers, then drilling equipment to get to the core, then pretty much all the explosive power we can create. The craft would need to be able to carry all of that there and back, & we have no such craft right now.

It's far more cost effective to just knock it off course to be honest. We can just remotely pilot a giant bomb to hit it at just the right spot at the right time to knock it off course, problem is that plan STILL requires insane amounts of explosive power to accomplish.

alright, that was a dumb ass question, like i thought, but thanks.

Only stupid question is one you don't ask.

So is the moon really made of cheese?

Redirection might be possible ising future technology.

You know, those sci fi concept thing where you just hit an asteroid hard enough just to redirect its course by several degrees and it will miss earth when it.

50 years from now, we will have probably computers advanced enough to run simulation and calculate the exact energy and spot recquired and spent the next 60-70 years preparing the bombs
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apolloooo posted...

Redirection might be possible ising future technology.

You know, those sci fi concept thing where you just hit an asteroid hard enough just to redirect its course by several degrees and it will miss earth when it.

50 years from now, we will have probably computers advanced enough to run simulation and calculate the exact energy and spot recquired and spent the next 60-70 years preparing the bombs

You wouldn't ram the asteroid. What would likely happen is landing some large rocket on it and attempting to thrust it enough to slightly alter its trajectory.
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The Admiral posted...

Trigg3rH4ppy posted...

The dust would be what finishes off 99% of the rest of life on earth. It would literally take years to settle and it would drastically lower surface temperatures causing everything to die from cold or famine.

Nah, it wouldn't be quite that bad.

This asteroid is only 500 meters. The asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs during the K-T event was 10 km, and it didn't kill 99% of life.

The planet would certainly be in trouble, but humanity would survive a direct hit from that asteroid.

Depend on what you think by apocalypse. Total extinction? Nah, i hate this species but know we are tough enough.

Losing majority of the population and set civilization a few centuries for a good amount of time? Yeh prolly.
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The Admiral posted...

apolloooo posted...

Redirection might be possible ising future technology.

You know, those sci fi concept thing where you just hit an asteroid hard enough just to redirect its course by several degrees and it will miss earth when it.

50 years from now, we will have probably computers advanced enough to run simulation and calculate the exact energy and spot recquired and spent the next 60-70 years preparing the bombs

You wouldn't ram the asteroid. What would likely happen is landing some large rocket on it and attempting to thrust it enough to slightly alter its trajectory.

Ya, this makes more sense.

Well, we did land a probe in a comet smaller and probably faster in 2016. Although a probe and a rocket thruster is pretty different in size, Weight and material or whatever, i am optimistic we can do the same thing with bigger stuff 1 century later if we havent killed ourselves yet
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Oh no! We'd better think of so....
Ryven posted...

Bennu has a 1 in 2,700 chance

:V
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Saitama has this under control

Maybe we'll have invented a planet wide force field by then :o
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I'll be long dead by then. Good luck everyone else.
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We should build a Wall against the planet and make the asteroid pay for it! (With its materials)
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That's fucking terrifying
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Also I might like to add that in addition to the 50 megaton largest nuke, the strongest volcanic eruption in recorded history was equivalent to 200 megatons.

So yeah, 6 times bigger than Krakatoa. And people heard that explosion almost (literally?) everywhere on the planet.

RoboLaserGandhi posted...

Also I might like to add that in addition to the 50 megaton largest nuke, the strongest volcanic eruption in recorded history was equivalent to 200 megatons.

So yeah, 6 times bigger than Krakatoa. And people heard that explosion almost (literally?) everywhere on the planet.

Did that deafen like everyone in a certain radius, or was it like vibrating through the earth and could be heard that way
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RIP Earth

I'll be dead and my soon to be kid will also be dead by then. It sucks for their future offspring but....I really don't care tbh. =/
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