Lilly Posted August 25, 2007 #26 Share Posted August 25, 2007 I've been waiting for you to mention that. You will be so disappointed if it never gets built. Hey, it really should be built...eventually (at some point) something big really is going to be 'heading right for us'. It's just a matter of time after all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raptor Posted August 25, 2007 #27 Share Posted August 25, 2007 Hey, it really should be built...eventually (at some point) something big really is going to be 'heading right for us'. It's just a matter of time after all! So you're impatiently waiting for a monstrous asteroid, harbinger of the elimination of the human race, to come hurtling towards the Earth, so that you can play with a new toy? Fair enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilly Posted August 25, 2007 #28 Share Posted August 25, 2007 So you're impatiently waiting for a monstrous asteroid, harbinger of the elimination of the human race, to come hurtling towards the Earth, so that you can play with a new toy? Fair enough. Well, can you think of a better reason to want a new toy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MID Posted August 25, 2007 #29 Share Posted August 25, 2007 Well, can you think of a better reason to want a new toy? NO! But that thing's a hell of a toy! I think it would be more fun to build a big firecracker and blast the asteroid to bits. It would proably be a lot less costly, alot more fun, alot less massive, and would likely work really well. With the rather weak internal structure cited for asteroids, we could probably scatter an asteroid into thousands of bits, create a great light show, learn a bit about asteroid structures, etc... Although...we would, of course, create thousands of new asteroids in wildly divergent orbits as a result. I think it could be done at a specific place and time in such a manner as to make those pieces inconsequentiual as far as Earth intercept was concerned (the odds of anything in space hitting the Earth are pretty slim)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raptor Posted August 25, 2007 #30 Share Posted August 25, 2007 Well, can you think of a better reason to want a new toy? Heh, well I suppose not. But that thing's a hell of a toy! I think it would be more fun to build a big firecracker and blast the asteroid to bits. It would proably be a lot less costly, alot more fun, alot less massive, and would likely work really well. Or on the complete other end of the spectrum, I like the idea of painting an asteroid to slightly alter its albedo, gently nudging it off course. Less dramatic than a massive nuclear explosion though, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted August 25, 2007 #31 Share Posted August 25, 2007 My favourite idea is the use of huge concave mirrors to focus sunlight on one spot of the asteroid. This vaporises a small area of the surface of the asteroid, acting like a rocket thruster and changing the orbit of the asteroid. This is so like burning holes in bits of paper like we did as kids that this makes it a really cool concept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legatus Legionis Posted August 26, 2007 #32 Share Posted August 26, 2007 (edited) My favourite idea is the use of huge concave mirrors to focus sunlight on one spot of the asteroid. This vaporises a small area of the surface of the asteroid, acting like a rocket thruster and changing the orbit of the asteroid. This is so like burning holes in bits of paper like we did as kids that this makes it a really cool concept. there's that flaw.. you can't exactly burn / vaporise a small area of the asteroid as it rotates while moving. making it hard to focus on one point. the idea that i like is the idea of the Russian's " develop a power-thrust engine and push the asteroid away ". How you ask...with Love and Lu's gravitational tractor! nice idea though.. Hey, it really should be built...eventually (at some point) something big really is going to be 'heading right for us'. It's just a matter of time after all! I'm sensing someone is about to cry. trying to defend her side. So you're impatiently waiting for a monstrous asteroid, harbinger of the elimination of the human race, to come hurtling towards the Earth, so that you can play with a new toy? Fair enough. ok, what if the toy broke halfway to the asteroid? would there be a backup plan? Edited August 26, 2007 by LiGhTyAgAmi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synergy Posted August 28, 2007 #33 Share Posted August 28, 2007 Well, That's all well in good but what if we can't? We won't have to. I think it's pretty safe to say it's a rather low priority target at this point. I can almost guarantee Apophis will miss its mark. The sensationalist media likes to exaggerate every potential doomsday scenario that comes to light to sell newspapers or draw in more viewers for higher ratings. We've seen such a scenario before, and chances are extremely low that Apophis will hit the Earth. I voted "No", and I say that with confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiatao Posted September 16, 2007 Author #34 Share Posted September 16, 2007 The Bible supports it, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted September 17, 2007 #35 Share Posted September 17, 2007 there's that flaw.. you can't exactly burn / vaporise a small area of the asteroid as it rotates while moving. making it hard to focus on one point. the idea that i like is the idea of the Russian's " develop a power-thrust engine and push the asteroid away ". nice idea though.. Why not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shantiel Posted September 17, 2007 #36 Share Posted September 17, 2007 I voted yes.-hides under the staircase- Don't say I didn't warn you! -mumbleBanterMumble damned leprechauns-(I voted no)Edit:What I wanna know is why they give asteroids feirce names, but give hurricanes names like "Hurricane Lucy". If you heard "hurricane lucy is headed towards (your town here)" you'd think "Awesome, I bet she's hot". But if you heard "Hurricane Destructicon is headed towards (your town here)" you'd think "HOLY CRAP"...ahahaha...all the stuff breaks up anyways.Aphphis is named after the deadly serpent-dragon of Egyptian lore. It is an accidentally appropriate name for a killer asteroid. Nonetheless:I voted no. It is unlikely to hit, but there is a possibility. Should that happen the consequences will indeed be horrible.Still, we should consider even the likely near miss soberly. The threat posed by near-earth objects is one extra-terrestrial threat that there is no scientific debate about. Please continue to urge support for research and protection against this sort of hazard.Dinosaurs had no space program. But the cave people did....what says they were so stupid. I know... I was making a joke...hahaha I want a "Don't care" option. Most people dont care, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
She-ra Posted September 17, 2007 #37 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Wow Shantiel... 6 posts to answer on one thread? Hmmm, can someone teach her how to reply to everything in ONE post?? Sorry hun but it's gotten quite annoying seeing it in ALL of your replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magikman Posted September 17, 2007 #38 Share Posted September 17, 2007 shantiel, Combine your comments into a single post, please, the multiple contributions are irritating and a waste of space. The other five posts have been removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
. Alexandros . Posted September 17, 2007 #39 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Mark my words everyone, A MUCH MUCH BIGGER DISASTER WILL HAPPEN WAY B4 APOPHIS HITS US WHEATHER IT BEING NATURAL OR MAN-MADE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drakonwick Posted September 17, 2007 #40 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Mark my words everyone, A MUCH MUCH BIGGER DISASTER WILL HAPPEN WAY B4 APOPHIS HITS US WHEATHER IT BEING NATURAL OR MAN-MADE. And what may I ask disaster are you referring to? Let me guess! "2012" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Skeptic Eric Raven Posted September 21, 2007 #41 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Mark my words everyone, A MUCH MUCH BIGGER DISASTER WILL HAPPEN WAY B4 APOPHIS HITS US WHEATHER IT BEING NATURAL OR MAN-MADE. I bet your talking about planet of the apes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy2007 Posted September 23, 2007 #42 Share Posted September 23, 2007 It's a long way off and it's orbit can be perturbed long before it gets here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Moonlight) Posted September 30, 2007 #43 Share Posted September 30, 2007 We can't shoot nukes at it because they cause it to break up, TURN IT NUCLEAR, then gravity pulls it together and it keeps going. I heard somewhere that many people think "Surely a big enough nuclear missile will stop it." Not so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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