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Domain: nearearthobjects.co.uk

Stories and comments across the archive that link to nearearthobjects.co.uk.

Comments · 7

  1. Re:LIES about space weapons by philbert26 · · Score: 1 · on ESA Plans Test of Asteroid Defense System
    The odds of an asteroid damaging Europe are so much lower than many other preventable crises that the entire sham is transparent. The odds of AIDS killing millions is much higher, and more preventable. The odds of climate change killing millions are also much higher.

    There's still much to be learned about how likely an impact is. We don't know how many near Earth objects (NEOs) there are. We are especially uncertain about the number of smaller NEOs, because they are hardest to detect.

    The smaller but still deadly NEOs (around 500-1000m in diameter) are harder to find than huge asteroids, but also much easier to divert. That sounds to me like a good reason to spend some effort on better detection and defence.

    Nor is this limited to European interests. According to the British Near Earth Object Task Force a 1km asteroid would be sufficient to cause global climate change. It's true that the risk of such a collision is low, but that has to be multiplied by the potential of many millions of immediate casualties, followed by millions more who could die due to the after effects of an impact.

  2. Re:Kind of scary. by register_ax · · Score: 2, Insightful · on Space Elevator Going Up
    Imagine a 100,000 km cable falling to earth.. I wouldn't want to be under it.

    I don't mean to sound too condescending, but really, the centrifugal force of earth's rotation makes that impossible. I would have been humoured if you would have stated imagine a 100,000 km cable being hurtled at the moon when I move there. For it to fall to earth would mean the earth would stop spinning...highly unlikely given what we know.

    You might be able to argue that inertia from the atmosphere would allow it to operate like a whip, but even that is farfetched. I doubt they would implement such a system without properly addressing such an issue.

    Be more afraid of Near Earth Objects. Of course those things fall from roughly 4.7E17 km. Why the hell don't people imagine that?

  3. There are already people watching by jwdg · · Score: 1 · on Request for Cosmic Collision Insurance
    NASA spends about $3m per year(according to a FAQ on the UK-government-sponsored NEO watch site) and has a page listing NEOs with some (mainly technical) information.

    My favourite FAQ from the UK site is:

    Are we going to die?

    Yes. We are all going to die some time. It is, however, very unlikely that the collision of a Near Earth Object will be responsible.

  4. There are already people watching by jwdg · · Score: 1 · on Request for Cosmic Collision Insurance
    NASA spends about $3m per year(according to a FAQ on the UK-government-sponsored NEO watch site) and has a page listing NEOs with some (mainly technical) information.

    My favourite FAQ from the UK site is:

    Are we going to die?

    Yes. We are all going to die some time. It is, however, very unlikely that the collision of a Near Earth Object will be responsible.

  5. NEO Information Centre by Lev13than · · Score: 5, Informative · on What, Me Worry?

    A good discussion of the asteroid/comet collision risk is covered by the Near Earth Object Information Centre's website, which is a not-so-secret agency maintained by the UK government:
    http://www.nearearthobjects.co.uk

    Also of note is a /. discussion along similar lines from back in September 2000:
    UK Publishes Asteroid Armageddon Report

  6. Near-Earth Asteroid / impact info by rakerman · · Score: 5, Informative · on Tunguska Mystery Blast Solved?

    http://www.nearearthobjects.co.uk/
    White Paper on Comet/Asteroid Impact Hazard
    NEAT - NASA Near Earth Asteroid Tracking
    Now if someone would only resurrect old USENET news, so I could dig out the posting I wrote about Tunguska circa 1990.

  7. You mean 90 years... by Derwen · · Score: 5 · on UK Publishes Asteroid Armageddon Report
    A quick google search for information on the asteroid which detonated over Tunguska in Siberia in June 1908 will pull up several sites, including this one (picked at random).

    The problem with statistically possible events is that they do occur, and in unpredictable ways, too. The 1908 impact happened in the most emote and sparsely-populated region on the planet. As we probably won't be so lucky next time (whether it is in 1 or 10,000 years time) it is fortunate that some people recognize the problem.
    - Derwen