elevatedflow Posted December 7 Report Share Posted December 7 Scientists call for plans to change asteroid's path Developing technology could take decades In Egyptian myth, Apophis was the ancient spirit of evil and destruction, a demon that was determined to plunge the world into eternal darkness.A fitting name, astronomers reasoned, for a menace now hurtling towards Earth from outerspace. Scientists are monitoring the progress of a 390-metre wide asteroid discovered last year that is potentially on a collision course with the planet, and are imploring governments to decide on a strategy for dealing with it.Nasa has estimated that an impact from Apophis, which has an outside chance of hitting the Earth in 2036, would release more than 100,000 times the energy released in the nuclear blast over Hiroshima. Thousands of square kilometres would be directly affected by the blast but the whole of the Earth would see the effects of the dust released into the atmosphere.And, scientists insist, there is actually very little time left to decide. At a recent meeting of experts in near-Earth objects (NEOs) in London, scientists said it could take decades to design, test and build the required technology to deflect the asteroid. Monica Grady, an expert in meteorites at the Open University, said: "It's a question of when, not if, a near Earth object collides with Earth. Many of the smaller objects break up when they reach the Earth's atmosphere and have no impact. However, a NEO larger than 1km [wide] will collide with Earth every few hundred thousand years and a NEO larger than 6km, which could cause mass extinction, will collide with Earth every hundred million years. We are overdue for a big one."Apophis had been intermittently tracked since its discovery in June last year but, in December, it started causing serious concern. Projecting the orbit of the asteroid into the future, astronomers had calculated that the odds of it hitting the Earth in 2029 were alarming. As more observations came in, the odds got higher.Having more than 20 years warning of potential impact might seem plenty of time. But, at last week's meeting, Andrea Carusi, president of the Spaceguard Foundation, said that the time for governments to make decisions on what to do was now, to give scientists time to prepare mitigation missions. At the peak of concern, Apophis asteroid was placed at four out of 10 on the Torino scale - a measure of the threat posed by an NEO where 10 is a certain collision which could cause a global catastrophe. This was the highest of any asteroid in recorded history and it had a 1 in 37 chance of hitting the Earth. The threat of a collision in 2029 was eventually ruled out at the end of last year.Alan Fitzsimmons, an astronomer from Queen's University Belfast, said: "When it does pass close to us on April 13 2029, the Earth will deflect it and change its orbit. There's a small possibility that if it passes through a particular point in space, the so-called keyhole, ... the Earth's gravity will change things so that when it comes back around again in 2036, it will collide with us." The chance of Apophis passing through the keyhole, a 600-metre patch of space, is 1 in 5,500 based on current information.There are no shortage of ideas on how to deflect asteroids. The Advanced Concepts Team at the European Space Agency have led the effort in designing a range of satellites and rockets to nudge asteroids on a collision course for Earth into a different orbit.No technology has been left unconsidered, even potentially dangerous ideas such as nuclear powered spacecraft. "The advantage of nuclear propulsion is a lot of power," said Prof Fitzsimmons. "The negative thing is that ... we haven't done it yet. Whereas with solar electric propulsion, there are several spacecraft now that do use this technology so we're fairly confident it would work."The favoured method is also potentially the easiest - throwing a spacecraft at an asteroid to change its direction. Esa plans to test this idea with its Don Quixote mission, where two satellites will be sent to an asteroid. One of them, Hidalgo, will collide with the asteroid at high speed while the other, Sancho, will measure the change in the object's orbit. Decisions on the actual design of these probes will be made in the coming months, with launch expected some time in the next decade. One idea that seems to have no support from astronomers is the use of explosives.Prof Fitzsimmons. "If you explode too close to impact, perhaps you'll get hit by several fragments rather than one, so you spread out the area of damage."In September, scientists at Strathclyde and Glasgow universities began computer simulations to work out the feasibility of changing the directions of asteroids on a collision course for Earth. In spring next year, there will be another opportunity for radar observations of Apophis that will help astronomers work out possible future orbits of the asteroid more accurately.If, at that stage, they cannot rule out an impact with Earth in 2036, the next chance to make better observations will not be until 2013. Nasa has argued that a final decision on what to do about Apophis will have to be made at that stage."It may be a decision in 2013 whether or not to go ahead with a full-blown mitigation mission, but we need to start planning it before 2013," said Prof Fitzsimmons. In 2029, astronomers will know for sure if Apophis will pose a threat in 2036. If the worst-case scenarios turn out to be true and the Earth is not prepared, it will be too late. "If we wait until 2029, it would seem unlikely that you'd be able to do anything about 2036," said Mr Yates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeelite1 Posted December 7 Report Share Posted December 7 this is going to be just like the Y2K hype. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elevatedflow Posted December 7 Author Report Share Posted December 7 this is going to be just like the Y2K hype.I think it will be easier to convince chicks that the end is near and its time to start humping like rabbits with this story ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeelite1 Posted December 7 Report Share Posted December 7 I think it will be easier to convince chicks that the end is near and its time to start humping like rabbits with this story ...shit.... imma start now.30 yrs and a month to go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tastey Posted December 7 Report Share Posted December 7 well in that case..... fuck aids and saving for your rent!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elevatedflow Posted December 7 Author Report Share Posted December 7 shit.... imma start now.30 yrs and a month to goDo aqua teen hunger force fans get special preference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeelite1 Posted December 7 Report Share Posted December 7 Do aqua teen hunger force fans get special preference?lol... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatman Posted December 7 Report Share Posted December 7 ...i'll be ready to go by then either way...party on garth...party on wayne... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guest00901 Posted December 7 Report Share Posted December 7 Sweet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elevatedflow Posted December 7 Author Report Share Posted December 7 lol...Your reply was not a "no" so ... score! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgmodel Posted December 7 Report Share Posted December 7 Scientists call for plans to change asteroid's path Developing technology could take decades In Egyptian myth, Apophis was the ancient spirit of evil and destruction, a demon that was determined to plunge the world into eternal darkness.A fitting name, astronomers reasoned, for a menace now hurtling towards Earth from outerspace. Scientists are monitoring the progress of a 390-metre wide asteroid discovered last year that is potentially on a collision course with the planet, and are imploring governments to decide on a strategy for dealing with it.Nasa has estimated that an impact from Apophis, which has an outside chance of hitting the Earth in 2036, would release more than 100,000 times the energy released in the nuclear blast over Hiroshima. Thousands of square kilometres would be directly affected by the blast but the whole of the Earth would see the effects of the dust released into the atmosphere.And, scientists insist, there is actually very little time left to decide. At a recent meeting of experts in near-Earth objects (NEOs) in London, scientists said it could take decades to design, test and build the required technology to deflect the asteroid. Monica Grady, an expert in meteorites at the Open University, said: "It's a question of when, not if, a near Earth object collides with Earth. Many of the smaller objects break up when they reach the Earth's atmosphere and have no impact. However, a NEO larger than 1km [wide] will collide with Earth every few hundred thousand years and a NEO larger than 6km, which could cause mass extinction, will collide with Earth every hundred million years. We are overdue for a big one."Apophis had been intermittently tracked since its discovery in June last year but, in December, it started causing serious concern. Projecting the orbit of the asteroid into the future, astronomers had calculated that the odds of it hitting the Earth in 2029 were alarming. As more observations came in, the odds got higher.Having more than 20 years warning of potential impact might seem plenty of time. But, at last week's meeting, Andrea Carusi, president of the Spaceguard Foundation, said that the time for governments to make decisions on what to do was now, to give scientists time to prepare mitigation missions. At the peak of concern, Apophis asteroid was placed at four out of 10 on the Torino scale - a measure of the threat posed by an NEO where 10 is a certain collision which could cause a global catastrophe. This was the highest of any asteroid in recorded history and it had a 1 in 37 chance of hitting the Earth. The threat of a collision in 2029 was eventually ruled out at the end of last year.Alan Fitzsimmons, an astronomer from Queen's University Belfast, said: "When it does pass close to us on April 13 2029, the Earth will deflect it and change its orbit. There's a small possibility that if it passes through a particular point in space, the so-called keyhole, ... the Earth's gravity will change things so that when it comes back around again in 2036, it will collide with us." The chance of Apophis passing through the keyhole, a 600-metre patch of space, is 1 in 5,500 based on current information.There are no shortage of ideas on how to deflect asteroids. The Advanced Concepts Team at the European Space Agency have led the effort in designing a range of satellites and rockets to nudge asteroids on a collision course for Earth into a different orbit.No technology has been left unconsidered, even potentially dangerous ideas such as nuclear powered spacecraft. "The advantage of nuclear propulsion is a lot of power," said Prof Fitzsimmons. "The negative thing is that ... we haven't done it yet. Whereas with solar electric propulsion, there are several spacecraft now that do use this technology so we're fairly confident it would work."The favoured method is also potentially the easiest - throwing a spacecraft at an asteroid to change its direction. Esa plans to test this idea with its Don Quixote mission, where two satellites will be sent to an asteroid. One of them, Hidalgo, will collide with the asteroid at high speed while the other, Sancho, will measure the change in the object's orbit. Decisions on the actual design of these probes will be made in the coming months, with launch expected some time in the next decade. One idea that seems to have no support from astronomers is the use of explosives.Prof Fitzsimmons. "If you explode too close to impact, perhaps you'll get hit by several fragments rather than one, so you spread out the area of damage."In September, scientists at Strathclyde and Glasgow universities began computer simulations to work out the feasibility of changing the directions of asteroids on a collision course for Earth. In spring next year, there will be another opportunity for radar observations of Apophis that will help astronomers work out possible future orbits of the asteroid more accurately.If, at that stage, they cannot rule out an impact with Earth in 2036, the next chance to make better observations will not be until 2013. Nasa has argued that a final decision on what to do about Apophis will have to be made at that stage."It may be a decision in 2013 whether or not to go ahead with a full-blown mitigation mission, but we need to start planning it before 2013," said Prof Fitzsimmons. In 2029, astronomers will know for sure if Apophis will pose a threat in 2036. If the worst-case scenarios turn out to be true and the Earth is not prepared, it will be too late. "If we wait until 2029, it would seem unlikely that you'd be able to do anything about 2036," said Mr YatesPHAT~! im quitting work, going into debt, and going to party like there is no 2037... this is going to be so rad... how long before they start selling underground fallout spaces and cabins??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tastey Posted December 7 Report Share Posted December 7 these bomb-shelters cost a lot less than i thought!!!http://cgi.ebay.com/Underground-Communications-Bunker-sitting-on-5-5-acres_W0QQitemZ4424105585QQcategoryZ15825QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemnext time i´m having the choice between a new car and one of these, def gonna get one of these to throw parties in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgmodel Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 lmao... are these leftovers from the coldwar or new joints??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tastey Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 almost as new!!(price is 75000$ right now)1966 Vintage Hardened Underground Communications Bunker on 5.5 acres. Nuclear war-proof communications center with 4,648 sq. ft. usable floor space. Hardened 24" thick walls, with 2 to 4 feet of earth separating bunker from ground level. Entry to bunker area through heavy blast doors.3 phase grid power to site, plus 2 large 225 KW turbines in place. Entry approximately 20' by 40' by above ground entry with walk in, and a push button commercial over-head door with electric hoist for moving equipment in and out. Above ground two-vehicle garage with functional bathroom and office space. Large asphalt parking area and drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majinbuu Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 i heard that hollywood has a plan to send bruce willis and ben affleck on a space ship to the asteroid to drill a hole, plant a bomb and destroy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 i heard that hollywood has a plan to send bruce willis and ben affleck on a space ship to the asteroid to drill a hole, plant a bomb and destroy it.as long as we have morgan freeman calling the shots we'll be alright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgmodel Posted December 8 Report Share Posted December 8 i heard that hollywood has a plan to send bruce willis and ben affleck on a space ship to the asteroid to drill a hole, plant a bomb and destroy it.LMAO... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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