Could a nuke save us from an asteroid ?

Posted on Thursday, 15 March, 2012 | Comment icon

41 comments | News tip by: Hilander

Image credit: ESA

In the event of an impending collision, would a nuclear bomb be enough to stop a killer asteroid ?

Scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico have been running computer simulations to determine if a nuke could stop an asteroid like in movies such as Armageddon. "Ultimately this 1-megaton blast will disrupt all of the rocks in the rockpile of this asteroid, and if this were an Earth-crossing asteroid, would fully mitigate the hazard represented by the initial asteroid itself," said scientists Bob Weaver. In the event of an asteroid threat however, a nuclear weapon would probably be a last resort if all other possible options had failed.

Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, a United States Department of Energy facility in New Mexico, used a supercomputer to model nukes' anti-asteroid effectiveness.

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Source: CBS News

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#32 Posted by bouncer on 21 March, 2012, 10:51

Ok so now I found a link that seems to say, YES, a nuke could do it, and scroll down for the vid. (I guess shockwaves do behave in a similar fashion in space?) http://zen-haven.dk/will-nuclear-megaton-shockwave-avert-earth-bound-asteroid/

#33 Posted by DieChecker on 22 March, 2012, 1:38

That is a result of the people you hang out with. I hope that is sarcasm and that you don't think space shuttle could actually "fly" over and around the Moon and then land on an asteroid. Drilling a hole would certainly work very well. In the US Army, I did a lot of explosives including cratering charges. These are 40 pounds of explosive, that would make about a 1 or 2 foot deep hole, about 10 feet across if detonated on the surface. But if you place it 8 to 12 feet down, you get a hole 60 feet across and 30 feet deep. When detonated with no where to go, the effect of... [More]

#34 Posted by questionmark on 22 March, 2012, 13:49

Or not, because there are more things, especially if we talk about paths through gravitation, that you upset than its direction.

#35 Posted by DieChecker on 23 March, 2012, 3:43

If it is as close as that, to be affected by Earth's Gravity, then there is not too much that would work anyway. Maybe nothing at that point.

#36 Posted by 27vet on 23 March, 2012, 6:31

Basically, most of the world's governments are in a shambles including the superpowers and wouldn't be able to put such a plan in action anyway, so we are doomed if such an event were to take place in the near future.

#37 Posted by JayMark on 27 March, 2012, 20:35

I don't think so. As far as I've read, shockwaves do happen in space but won't behave in the same way as they would do inside a medium such as a gas, solid, liquid or plasma. But depending on how you see it, it could be very well similar. Just not exactly in the same way.

#38 Posted by Spid3rCyd3 on 29 March, 2012, 13:37

Throw in that mutated potential killer flu that only requires 5 small genetic alterations (the research is supposed to be publicly available, might already be available), and there you go.

#39 Posted by Tx-Faithful on 29 April, 2012, 15:52

calm down people Servo-tech industries have already invented the astronomic bomb which eats away the asteroid with tiny nanobytes composed of kryptonite so no fears, but we can also always day dream while Armageddon barrels towards us its very effective an you die a believer

#40 Posted by spud the mackem on 29 April, 2012, 16:03

Can you have shockwaves in a vacuum ?

#41 Posted by spud the mackem on 29 April, 2012, 16:11

Bounce something off it like you would a "pool" ball to divert it into the pocket..Am I a genius or what, ha "or what" is the answer

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