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Earth struck by big asteroids 'all the time'


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Three former NASA astronauts are set to reveal some unsettling data on how vulnerable our planet is.

The claim is based on data recorded by a nuclear weapons warning network suggesting that "the only thing preventing a catastrophe from a 'city-killer' sized asteroid is blind luck."

Read More: http://www.unexplain...ds-all-the-time

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The earth's surface is roughly 3/4 covered in water and the land area only about 5% inhabited, so the odds are in your favor NOT to be hit by something from space.

Where is the cut off point between meteors and asteroids? I assume it has to do with size/mass. Seems like medium to large meteor strikes traveling at high velocities could generate considerable seismic readings. When one thinks of asteroids, one usually thinks really big and I would expect we would be seeing a lot of impact craters or areas being flattened like Tunguska if this was a common thing (excluding ocean impacts), after all we have satellite mapping going on all the time. Perhaps an ocean strike might account for "rouge waves" that occasional strike the coast. Several years ago a three foot wave raced up the beach in Florida knocking cars around and knocking people to the ground. It was never explained and there were no storms in the area.

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Where is the cut off point between meteors and asteroids? I assume it has to do with size/mass.

An asteroid is a rock in space. A meteor is an object which has entered the Earth's atmosphere. A meteorite is an object which has actually survived entry and has reached the ground. So an object can start out as an asteroid, become a meteor and eventually end up a meteorite.

An object in space too small to be considered an asteroid is generally called a meteoroid.

Traditionally, small bodies orbiting the Sun were classified as asteroids, comets or meteoroids, with anything smaller than ten metres across being called a meteoroid. The term "asteroid" is ill-defined. It never had a formal definition, with the broader term minor planet being preferred by the International Astronomical Union from 1853 on. In 2006, the term "small Solar System body" was introduced to cover both most minor planets and comets.

Source: Wikipedia

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26 atomic bomb sized explosions in 13 years, ouch. So twice a year on average there is basically a random atomic bomb going off somewhere on the planet? That is no bueno!

Edited by Razer
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so, if they're hitting the earth "all the time" and we're all not dead yet i don't suppose there's much point in obsessing over it.

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So twice a year on average there is basically a random atomic bomb going off somewhere on the planet?

As long as they are getting destroyed in the atmosphere there is no problem. Good old atmosphere, I love her.

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As there has occurred in the past, probability favors another mass extinction event on Earth. And, as the success of a species or civilization can be measured by its ability to adapt and sustain itself, our success might ultimately be determined by our ability to establish a Moon or Mars colony.

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So if one of these hits close to the coast of any country we can expect tsunami's and seeing as how many actually get through then its inevitable isn't it....

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In addition to Lu, Space Shuttle astronaut Tom Jones and Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders will be speaking at the event, titled "Saving the Earth by Keeping Big Asteroids Away."

I know scientists and engineers are somewhat terse and blunt, but really? The conference is called "Saving the Earth by Keeping Big Asteroids Away." ? LOLO

Insert Geico Caveman joke here <----

Seriously though, these guys must have the ultimate in job satisfaction.

"So how was work today dear?"

"Oh, you know, the usual, Saving the Earth by Keeping Big Asteroids Away."

Great for party openers too.

"So, what do you do?"

"Oh, I'm in the Saving the Earth by Keeping Big Asteroids Away business."

Edited by redhen
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It's one of those things referred to in risk management science as a low frequency high consequence event. There is a tendency in the general public and bureaucrats to discount such events, when in fact they are the ones that should get the most attention.

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As there has occurred in the past, probability favors another mass extinction event on Earth. And, as the success of a species or civilization can be measured by its ability to adapt and sustain itself, our success might ultimately be determined by our ability to establish a Moon or Mars colony.

We most likely already have one

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We most likely already have one

No... We most likely don't have one...

Regardless what some youtube vid will try to convince you..

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It pretty certain no asteroid is out there big enough to end it all on earth in any orbit that might cause a collision, at least for several hundred years, but that doesn't mean there aren't some rocks out there to do in a city or two, so much work remains to be done.

Comets are another problem; although much rarer and the earth makes a minute target in the space comets come in from (not just along the ecliptic), still they would be much more difficult to find if one were to come in on a straight collision trajectory.

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As there has occurred in the past, probability favors another mass extinction event on Earth. And, as the success of a species or civilization can be measured by its ability to adapt and sustain itself, our success might ultimately be determined by our ability to establish a Moon or Mars colony.

What will it be then, run or make a stand? The moon and mars are just as likely to be devastated by impact if not more so. And if the earth is destroyed what will become of the moon... Yes, into the solar vortex. From mars where to then?

You cant play leapfrog with the grim reaper. I say make a stand!

Dont forget so far the earth is hit by big asteroids all the time, and so far we have survived all the time.

Edited by taniwha
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Dont forget so far the earth is hit by big asteroids all the time, and so far we have survived all the time.

The reason is that what has hit us, at least for the last couple billion years, just has not been quite big enough.
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Space is big, even in the solar system it is almost all empty; it is not like billiards; these collisions happen very rarely.

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Asteroids don't bother me. Its comets I'm more worried about. Not only are they unpredictable, they moving a hell of a lot faster and can hit asteroids as well as the arth. Nobody expected Hale Bopp for example. Copied from Wikipedia. The estimated probability of impacting Earth in future passages through the inner Solar System is remote, about 2.5 x 10−9 per orbit.[33] However, given that the comet nucleus is around 60 km in diameter,[1] the consequences of such an impact would be apocalyptic. A calculation given by Weissman[33] conservatively estimates the diameter at 35 km; an estimated density of 0.6 g/cm3 then gives a cometary mass of 1.3 x 1019 g. An impact velocity of 52.5 km/s yields an impact energy of 1.9 x 1032 ergs, or 4.4 x 109 megatons, about 44 times the estimated energy of the K-T impact event. End of Wikipedia. End of Planet Earth even if it misses us and hits the moon.

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I would say that since most of what they are classifying as "asteroids" explode in the atmosphere, the risk of damage to us on the ground is minimal.

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I had no idea they were that frequent. Even if most of these explosions are occuring high in the atmosphere it's still pretty astonishing that there are explosions a couple of times a year of that size and people don't see more of them. I guess the odds are in our favor because of the fact that people only inhabit a small fraction of the planet but still...

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Asteroids of this size were not frequent until the solar system entered an Interstellar dust cloud in 2002. NASA seems to be hiding this fact for some reason. Instead of telling it as it is, they are inventing history by saying this has been happening all along but we haven't noticed. If these kinds of events have been happening all along, they would have been noticed a long time ago. We have been monitoring gamma ray bursts, have satellites in space monitoring the atmosphere, had space stations observing Earth, and have airplanes all over the planet in the air all the time. And now they only have data for impacts since 2001? They are pulling the wool over our eyes to hide the truth from everyone. Large asteroids in large quantities are here to stay for a few hundred years.

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You can watch the visualisation now here...

https://b612foundation.org

Maybe future Sentinels might even destroy or repel the most dangerous asteroids.

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Asteroids of this size were not frequent until the solar system entered an Interstellar dust cloud in 2002.

NASA seems to be hiding this fact for some reason.

Are you talking about the LIC (Lokal Interstellar Cloud) here? If not, can you pls provide a reliable source

that will back your claim? No NewAge/shaman/hippie sources please.

Edited by toast
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Asteroids of this size were not frequent until the solar system entered an Interstellar dust cloud in 2002. NASA seems to be hiding this fact for some reason. Instead of telling it as it is, they are inventing history by saying this has been happening all along but we haven't noticed. If these kinds of events have been happening all along, they would have been noticed a long time ago. We have been monitoring gamma ray bursts, have satellites in space monitoring the atmosphere, had space stations observing Earth, and have airplanes all over the planet in the air all the time. And now they only have data for impacts since 2001? They are pulling the wool over our eyes to hide the truth from everyone. Large asteroids in large quantities are here to stay for a few hundred years.

I'm no expert but I try to stay current on astronomy. This is the first I've heard about an increase in asteroids. I would think NASA would be shouting this as loud as they could to get funding to beef up their observation programs. I would also like to see some sources for this revelation please.

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