Asteroid Impact Simulator Available

crem_d_genes writes "Scientists at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory have developed an online program that calculates the effects of an asteroid impact that can be customized for several parameters. Results and the frequency of the type of event you have selected are displayed with an explanation of what they mean. A news briefing of the full story is available."

Comments

Now I can answer that age old question.

[dtfinch]

What would happen if a neutron star the size of the moon smacked into the earth at the speed of light?

Inputs:
Projectile Diameter: 10000000.00 m = 32800000.00 ft = 6210.00 miles
Projectile Density: 80000 kg/m3 (ironx10, probably an underestimate)
Impact Velocity: 300000.00 km/s = 186300.00 miles/s (speed of light)
Impact Angle: 45 degrees

Output:
Energy: 1.88 x 1042 Joules = 4.50 x 1026 MegaTons TNT
Transient Crater Diameter: 2897115.48 km = 1799108.71 miles
Final Crater Diameter: 20162191.03 km = 12520720.63 miles

We might not make it.

some hints

[AtariAmarok]

when big slow rocks get hit, they can break up into little fast rocks that might impact your ship

The fastest way to a high score is to treat the rocks as obstacles, and concentrate on shooting the little fast ship.

Everytime I run it

[Anonymous Coward]

I die. This isn't very fun. How do you win?

Homeland security issue?

[vudufixit]

If you notice an asteroid with a swarthy complexion, a headscarf and a Koran using this simulation against sensitive targets on Earth, please notify the Dept of Homeland Security - immediately.

Meteor Crater up near the Grand Canyon

[portforward]

I went to the Meteor Crater in Northern Arizona and at the visitor center they had something very similar, with graphics and everything. You put in the speed, angle, size and density of the asteroid, and they had a graphical display of the damage.
Not to take anything away from the UofA. I live in Tucson, and know some of the planetary scientists.

Better yet

[ObviousGuy]

Why not start researching realistic methods of destroying/deflecting these menaces before they get the chance to do their damage on us? If we change our mindset from one of reacting to one of being proactive towards the elimination of these threats, we will not only improve our chances of surviving an asteroid attack, we will also be able to reap the scientific technology breakthroughs that came along with such research.

I'm just a lowly slashbot and don't have much say in how things are run at the upper echelons of government, but I think that it goes without saying that anyone who is serious about eliminating these threats needs to focus energies on 1) identifying suspicious threats, and 2) developing and using technologies that will neutralize those threats.

Other simulation available

[MarkGriz]

Seems they've also designed an IP Packet Impact Simulator

Aiming?

[Alsier]

I can't find the field to enter in my ex-girlfriends coordinates in.

I wonder what they'll name the crater...

[djward]

where their server used to be?

Damn Slashdotters

[Sycraft-fu]

Load average on the server is currently 98. We are trying to move it to a more powerful, less utilized server. Oh and it's actually hosted at the Electrical and Computer Engineering department.

It must be our fault

[Saganaga]

I hear about people proposing that we should be prepared to attack or deflect any large asteroid heading towards Earth. Instead of trying to do that, I think we should try to understand why the asteroids are attacking us. We need to examine what we have done to the asteroids to make them hate us so much. Ultimately, that's the only way to stop asteroid attacks.

Standard Texas Unit

[TomorrowPlusX]

I'm disappointed at the lack of standard-texas-units for the meteor diameter.

Or, for that matter, the standard volkswagon-bug unit.

Anvil calculations

[Cyran0]

...or, if you're Wile E. Coyote...

Inputs:
Projectile Diameter: 1 m = 3.28 ft
Projectile Density: 8000 kg/m3
Impact Velocity: .10 km/s (terminal velocity)
Impact Angle: 90 degrees

Output:
Crater depth: 3 ft
Crater shape: coyote
Sign poking out of crater: "Ouch!"

Re:Why dosen't the moon get knocked out of orbit?

[Hentai]

Umm... Tycho Crater actually isn't nearly as big as Copernicus crater, and even that didn't "crack" anything more than the moon's outer surface. The moon is really, REALLY big - at the size of planets and moons, anything big enough to deform its general shape won't leave a "crater" so much as just mush the moon into two or more smaller objects, that will each collapse into spheres under their own gravity. So if you're seeing a crater on something the size of a planet, it was WAY too small to actually break it.

Likewise, the earth's orbit hasn't shifted significantly since the moon was formed - which was at least 3 billion years ago. Anything else big enough to shift the earth's orbit would have made another moon. Remember, at these scales, the concept of solididity doesn't work exactly the way you'd think it would.