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Simulation Of An Asteroid Impact In The Year 2880

Posted by timothy on from the only-a-test dept.

JoeRobe writes "Researchers at UCSC have simulated a possible outcome of an impact by asteroid 1950DA when it passes near us in the year 2880. Note that there is a 0.3% chance of impact during that encounter. In the event that it impacts in the Atlantic, they predict that the '60,000 megaton blast' would create 400 foot waves along the east coast. In addition to an assessment of the danger, their studies point out the resulting geologic features that we should be looking for now, which would indicate where and when such impacts have occured in the past."

12 of 411 comments (clear)

  1. Actually... by SquireCD · · Score: 5, Funny

    I believe that nuclear war will have killed us all by then. Don't worry about the comet.

  2. Uhm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    their studies point out the resulting geologic features that we should be looking for now, which would indicate where and when such impacts have occured in the past.

    Craters?

    1. Re:Uhm... by canthusus · · Score: 5, Informative

      Craters are only visible for a short period, and for relatively small impacts. They erode.

      For older and larger impacts, you're looking for very different evidence: heavily brecciated rocks, shock quartz crystals, changes to crust/mantle interface, evidence of high pressure rocks. Further afield, evidence of global dust layers (esp contaminated with terrestrially unusual minerals such as iridium), evidence of "tidal wave" eg poorly structured jumbled marine deposits over a large area.

  3. In 877 years I will be dead by ObviousGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

    And thus I do not care.

    --
    I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
    1. Re:In 877 years I will be dead by Snoopy77 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Two hands and a mouth ... we are ready for the three breasted women!

      --
      "She's a West Texas girl, just like me" - G.W Bush Iraqis
  4. I doubt they will speak English 800 years from now by ObviousGuy · · Score: 5, Funny

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    --
    I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
  5. Our great^12 grandchildren are going to look back by tlambert · · Score: 5, Funny

    Our great^12 grandchildren are going to look back on news stories like this one and *laugh their feelers off*...

    -- Terry

  6. Re:I doubt they will speak English 800 years from by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    A hUgE r0ck tWo-tHiRdS 0F @ MiL3 in DiAmEtEr

    I see you're confident the USA won't have switched to metric by then.

  7. The book of horrible questions by rock_climbing_guy · · Score: 5, Interesting
    There is a question in this funny volume that addresses this subject. I don't have the book at hand, but it goes like this: If you had the choice, and no one could ever know that you had the choice, would you allow the United States to sink into the ocean 500 years after your death in exchange for an ATM card that can remove money from any ATM without taking money from your account.

    Don't even think about it, you fscking Canadians.

    --
    Wh47 d1d j00 541, 31337 15n't t3h r0xor5 ne m0r3???
  8. One things that I haven't seen addressed ... by rock_climbing_guy · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Everyone's talking about an asteroid slamming into the Atlantic Ocean. It's 2 AM and I honestly am not going to RTFA before I crash tonight, but it seems strange that they always consider the idea of the asteroid slamming directly into the surface.

    There are many distinct ways that the asteroid could hit. I imagine that after you determine if, when, and where it impacts the Earth, the next most important thing to know to weigh the consequences would be at what angle and trajectory it hits at. I imagine it would be quite different if it hit at a 1/16 * Pi angle and streaked across the sea than it would be if it hit orthogonal ( right angle ) to the surface.

    Also, I imagine the rotation of the asteroid could be a major factor, as well as its shape and composition.

    --
    Wh47 d1d j00 541, 31337 15n't t3h r0xor5 ne m0r3???
  9. Re:I doubt they will speak English 800 years from by Hellkitten · · Score: 5, Funny

    But they'd be reading Slashdot even then?

    They will, an when the news hits they will complain it's a dupe: "So what the asteroid will hit tomorrow, this is old news it was posted like 800 years ago, fscking slashdot dupes"

    --
    - We are the slashdot. Resistance is futile. Prepare to be moderated -
  10. how about another or two by djupedal · · Score: 5, Informative

    And I suppose none of these angular approches would be negated by gravity? Try to glance a ball bearing off of a magnet and then talk to me about an asteriod with a 1/16 * Pi approach angle. A hit is at least 50% tractor-pull...

    I doubt there are as many distinct/unique hit scenarios as some would propose. This isn't a weeked destruction derby, with hollowed out Cadillacs bouncing off each other in a mud pit.

    Next, asteriods are not known for their 'rotation' as much as they are for tumbling. Neither of which matters much as the gases and kinetic energy involved in a strike will have their way long before actual contact of the two entities. Much like an avalanche, or tsunami, the bulk of the damage is from the shock and pressure wave(s) that arrive before the object/event itself. Contact is after the fact, and I don't think anyone is going to come out from under their desk saying "man! that was close! Good thing it only grazed us!" In this case, a miss really is as good as a hit.