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NASA sets schedule for handling asteroid threat...


Royston

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Please find the news article here...

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9871982/

 

'NASA has outlined what it could do, and in what time frame, in case a quarter-mile-wide asteroid named Apophis is on a course to slam into Earth in the year 2036. The timetable was released by the B612 Foundation, a group that is pressing NASA and other government agencies to do more to head off threats from near-Earth objects.'

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I suddenly realize the stupidity of movies like Armegeddon. Why would an asteroid the size of texas just appear out of the blue with out NASA knowing or taking action before it's really close. That makes no sense.

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  • 1 month later...

Since there is now only one observatory looking at the Southern sky for possible impactors, it is quite possible that one could "appear out of the blue".

 

We have by no means a complete radar or visual early warning system in place. IIRC there was a fair sized one passed a few years ago and we only saw it on the way out. Passed closer than the moon I think.

 

I recall that the Deep Range Radar at Aricebo can now track objects out to Jupiter, but there is only one Aricebo and a whole lot of sky to search.

 

If an object had very low albedo, then it would only be detected by blocking starlight. It could indeed get quite close before we saw it.

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There was a national geographic tv special about this a few weeks ago. One interviewed scientist proposed simply grabbing the astroid with a giant claw. The astroid will fight against springs and will eventually be thrown in the opposite direction from the springs. There's obviously more to it than that, but that's the summary of his plan. If NASA had better funding, I believe this scientist's idea could work, and it may be better than the current plan.

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