Asteroid Defense - Asteroid Defense

Ian · 2003-08-31 20:02:01

I wonder if an asteroid or comet is discovered to be on an impact collision with earth and astronauts are sent to stop it, could they use small quantities of antimatter to blow up the asteroid or comet. Antimatter explosions could be better than the nuclear explosives that were shown in the movies.

Spider-Man · 2003-08-31 20:51:03

Heh, you sure do seem to like antimatter, my friend (but who doesn't!). And certainly, but, as this site delineates,

http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlin … pr99_1.htm

it's very hard to make antimatter; it doesn't occur naturally in our corner of the universe, so we have to smash subatomic particles together to make a few, random antiparticles every so often. That's not exactly a readily accessable fuel source; even tritium is easier to obtain for fusion reactions (as with a hydrogen bomb). But still, if we found an easy, cheep, efficient way of manufacturing antimatter, then sure, a bigger bomb is always better when you want to blow something up.

Free Spirit · 2003-08-31 22:02:22

Since an asteroid or comet on a collision course with Earth will probably be detected decades if not more in advance of impacting you could just alter its course through more simple methods like changing its color. Making it darker or lighter will affect its velocity in the long term. You wouldn't necessarily have to 'paint' the whole asteroid.

Ian · 2003-09-01 10:39:41

Maybe beams of infrared radiation directed at the asteroid or comet and it would heat up enough for the comet or asteroid to melt before it could get to earth. Maybe microwaves could be beamed from a huge microwave antenna could melt the asteroid or comet. Also someone could probablty put rockets on the asteroid or comet that would generate enough force to alter the asteroid's course as it travels through space.

Free Spirit · 2003-09-01 16:40:17

Actually of all the ideas of heard for moving an asteroid I think that laser idea is the best one. Maybe putting mirrors on an asteroids surface that would act to heat it up and change its reflectiveness could work.

Shaun Barrett · 2003-09-01 17:44:11

Free Spirit:-

... for moving an asteroid I think that laser idea is the best one.

A friend of mine had to have his asteroids removed .. don't know if they used a laser though.

Free Spirit · 2003-09-02 01:38:35

A friend of mine had to have his asteroids removed .. don't know if they used a laser though.

Better lasers than nuclear bombs. :laugh: Come to think of it, I think lasers could prove particularly valuable for interdicting comets since they tend to be very icy. You could just burn off a lot of ice on once side and hope its enough to change its trajectory enough to miss Earth.

Ian · 2003-09-02 07:58:22

I found this interesting article on cnn about an asteroid that scientists think might hit the earth in 2014 although there's a very small chance of that happening. I just want to be sure about that. Here's the weblink http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/09/0 … index.html

Ian · 2003-09-02 08:04:25

I think that the best way to defend against this if it is discovered that the asteroid will hit the earth lasers could be used or an advanced nuclear missle with orion type propulsion could be used to deflect it out of it's trajectory and away from the earth. Once the missle impacts the asteroid it could either break up into many pieces or be deflected out of it's path toward earth.

Palomar · 2003-09-02 11:43:10

Free Spirit:-
... for moving an asteroid I think that laser idea is the best one.
A friend of mine had to have his asteroids removed .. don't know if they used a laser though.

Asteroid vs. Earth, 2014?

*Might want to read the above...it's pertinent. "On impact, it could have the effect of 20 million Hiroshima atomic bombs..."

Um, Shaun...do you mean to say -adenoids-? Or are you merely joking?

--Cindy

Shaun Barrett · 2003-09-02 19:29:57

Hmmm.
I think he said it was his asteroids.
Anyhow, I know he was having trouble sitting down.

Lone--Wolfe · 2003-09-02 20:59:57

hehehehe

Palomar · 2003-09-03 06:05:12

Hmmm.
I think he said it was his asteroids.
Anyhow, I know he was having trouble sitting down.

*That last line is a clue; he likely meant hemorrhoids.

The only reference to "asteroid(s)" relative to anatomy, physiology, and medicine that I can find with the Stedman's Online Medical Dictionary are:

:asteroid hyalosis:
numerous small spherical bodies (?snowball? opacities) in the corpus vitreum, visible ophthalmoscopically; an age change, usually unilateral, and not affecting vision.

-and-

:asteroid body:
an eosinophilic inclusion resembling a star with delicate radiating lines, occurring in a vacuolated area of cytoplasm of a multinucleated giant cell; especially frequent in sarcoidosis, but also seen in other granulomas;
2. a structure that is characteristic of sporotrichosis when found in the skin or secondary lesions of this mycosis; in tissue, it surrounds the 3- to 5-4m in diameter ovoid yeast of Sporothrix schenckii.

Off topic, yeah.

--Cindy

Byron · 2003-09-03 07:05:58

Hmmm.
I think he said it was his asteroids.
Anyhow, I know he was having trouble sitting down.
*That last line is a clue; he likely meant hemorrhoids.
The only reference to "asteroid(s)" relative to anatomy, physiology, and medicine that I can find with the Stedman's Online Medical Dictionary are:
:asteroid hyalosis:
numerous small spherical bodies (?snowball? opacities) in the corpus vitreum, visible ophthalmoscopically; an age change, usually unilateral, and not affecting vision.
-and-
:asteroid body:
an eosinophilic inclusion resembling a star with delicate radiating lines, occurring in a vacuolated area of cytoplasm of a multinucleated giant cell; especially frequent in sarcoidosis, but also seen in other granulomas;
2. a structure that is characteristic of sporotrichosis when found in the skin or secondary lesions of this mycosis; in tissue, it surrounds the 3- to 5-4m in diameter ovoid yeast of Sporothrix schenckii.
Off topic, yeah.
--Cindy

Off topic....and way, wayyy over my head...lol...

This is why I think we need a "plain English" law....

:laugh:

B

Shaun Barrett · 2003-09-03 08:40:14

For God's sake, Cindy!
It was only my lame attempt at humour!!

Put the damned Dictionary away!

Palomar · 2003-09-03 08:59:56

For God's sake, Cindy!
It was only my lame attempt at humour!!

Put the damned Dictionary away!

*Lol! Well, I thought you MIGHT be joking...I was HOPING you were joking...but I wasn't for certain! Ah, the internet...wherein subtleties can get lost or overlooked.

--Cindy :laugh:

Hey! Would you guys like the dictionary definition of the pudendal nerve? How about details of a regular, "run-of-the-mill" esophagogastroduodenoscopy?

Back to our regular programming (apologies to the thread starter)

Josh Cryer · 2003-09-03 09:38:53

Hmm, I think the inflatable bag with a jet idea is the only really plausible scenario. Everything else breaks. Hitting one with lots of nuclear bombs could only split it up, without changing the overall trajectory of the object(s). Using a small device on the surface could likewise merely drill through it (and it wouldn't change the trajectory much). But of course, the problem with the inflatable bag idea is that it may not work very well on spinning objects.

In any case, I think we need a moon based asteroid lookout point. Aren't we due for another hit soon? The things seem more abundant than they did only ten years ago, if only because we're discovering them at a huge rate.

Ian · 2003-09-04 08:34:04

Jpl is saying that there is less and less of a chance that that asteroid will hit the earth becuase of more complex ways of calculating the orbit and trajectory of the asteroid. Anyway, what should we do if one is discovered to be really on a collision cource with the earth like in the movies Armagaddon or Deep Impact.

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Re: Asteroid Defense - Asteroid Defense

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