Asterioid Near-miss Predicted - February 15th 2013

I think we should nuke that bad boy just as it's passing to see what happens, get some hard data...

Our luck would be after doing that it would nudge it just enough to bite us on the return trip around the Sun.

We can calculate it's orbit and force it further away...and some day the hard data we could get from an experiment like this, might just save this planet from another mass extinction...This asteroid is big enough to do severe damage, but not big enough to end life as we know it...smaller chunks would burn up in the atmosphere, this rock in one piece as it is, would reach or nearly reach the surface....and it's next pass we may have to do it for real, wouldn't you rather take control of the situation now? or at least gain some real world data that would determine what would have to be done to deal with a smaller or larger threat when it happens?

0.I'll bet that NASA would be a lot more cautious about arbitrarily nuking anything in space.

Besides violating probable international treaties with regards to nuclear weapons in space:

1. There is a very large hazard if the rocket malfunctions.

2. The results of detonation would be unpredictable. It could do what is expected or it could do the opposite or something else.

3. The risk of failure could be catastrophic if the asteroid were to be accidentally diverted on an intercept course with Earth at a later pass in its orbit.

This is not a gameshow.

What would you recommend if the asteriod was on a collision course? Go and hide under the bed? This is a situation we are going to have to face, that sooner or later an asteroid of size will be detected on a collision course with Earth, and we will have to deal with it....denial won't work...This is possibly a once in a lifetime opportunity to get hard data on cause and effect of high explosive techniques in dealing with this kind of threat....Would you rather start the experiment when one of these is bearing down on us, and we only have one shot...and have no real data on what will happen?

If you are in a pickle you take the risks and do your best.

If the thing isn't a threat then doing extraordinary things are probably not warranted.

You are advocating experimenting with what may be a very risky experiment for the reasons cited. If it is not so risky then it may be possible, but I think the international treaties are going to be a big hurdle as are the risks of launching a real live nuke.

The hard data we could do with is the surface voltage of this incoming. If it's orbit brings it from far enough out then it will be extremely negative. A naturally occuring plasma double layer sheath will be isolating that potential from surrounding space. That is likely to be the first thing with which we make contact, not the rocky surface. The protective layer of our own plasma sheath is usually enough to cause these objects to violently discharge, but rarely if ever do they actually enter the atmosphere.

We might get a thunderbolt like the Siberian Tunguska but little more. Fireworks shows should be spectacular if it comes close enough!

and what about if the asteroid would be rightlly slamed in the midle by a perfurating war head... would that improve that chances of the sucess!

iep... thats the deal!

Right now the asteriod is a rifle shot we know is going to miss. Why would you want blow it up (at great cost and uncertainty) turning it into a shotgun blast with a greater likelihood of getting hit by some of its fragments? It would be good to know when it might be back.

I agree, the last time a group of "experts" said: let's do it and see what happens, they blew up a dead wahl on a beach, shortly afterwards lethal big chunks of rotten meat were threatening the life of all witnesses as they fell from considerable altitude all over the crowd...

Was one of those whales turned into a flowerpot by any chance?

What are the chances of this puppy striking a satellite? It is passing inside the sat orbits, so I guess I'm asking, how heavy is the sat traffic up there? I'm assuming that its trajectory will take it through the orbit belt in a long arc giving it two chances at a satsplat (on the way in and on the way out).

If it did strike a satellite on its way through, that could change its orbit a bit..

It could make like a billiard shot and knock some clunky satellite right at us....We got satellites all over the place well past 15k miles...

I'm with you on this........I'd suggest gluing little balls of magnesium all around the nuke ....if all else fails the fireworks show would be spectacular!

Nuking this 'roid probably won't do squat. Don't forget that the damage effects of a thermonuclear explosion within the Earth's atmosphere relies exactly on the very presence of air to maximize the overpressure, and hence damage. Conversely, in the vacuum of space a thermonuclear explosion will hardly have any direct effect, especially if the 'roid is an iron rich one. You may end up sending it directly into us instead...a BIG SMACK DOWN!

We'd be better off redirecting it when it's way far away from the Earth.....send it to the Sun to fry it for good, and then forget about it coming back to bite us in the ass.

So they're predicting it coming close to Earth in February 2013, eh? Something like 16,000 miles close, plus or minus......and they're still tracking it to readjust their orbital numbers. There still is a chance it could hit us.

So, the Mayan's Long calendar end date of December 21, 2012, or our interpretation thereof, is slightly off eh????

Still time to bend over deeply and kiss your collective sorry asses bye bye! LOL

This is not a planet killer by any means. It has the destructive power of the event in Russia in the early 1900s.

Its these sort of reports that make me wonder....

What if they had predicted that it would slam into Earth, would they have had the guts to tell anyone??

Afterall there is very little that can be done about it, despite the films! 15,000 miles is a gnat's whisker away.

I bet those astronomers are 'hoping' its going to be a close miss, they don't want to start a panic afterall do they??

John.

You're right! Hell no they won't mention it so the populace doesn't go into a panic mode, which in turn will become mass riots, rape, pillage, looting and killings. It'd be the start of the Apocalypse when all sense of normal decency and public civility would cease to exist.

A close fly-by of less than 16,000 miles is well within the Geo-stationary orbit of our satellites....way too damn close for my comfort zone. But hey, what can I do? Prep and plan for the worse and pray like nothing before hoping that it hits the other side of the planet? That'd be selfish.

Okay now, let's all sing REM's "Radio Free Europe" on the count of 3, ready?!!!! All set 1 - 2 - 3.....

[If y'all don't know the lyrics I'll post 'em here later on.......]

"....it's the end of the world, and I feel fine....."

ps: "Ban the Bomb", as some amongst us would suggest???? Hell no....I want to reserve a few copies just in case the chit hits the fan.... LMAO

BTW, don't mind me as I've had a few shots of Irish whiskey (100 Proof "Knot") and Guinness Extra Stout chasers in honor of good 'ole Saint Paddy.....as I await the Mrs. Moosie's stupendously delish Corned Beef + pan-fried bacon, onions & Cabbage + boiled salt potatos + Irish Soda bread + Bailey's cheese cake (to die for!).....

As I raise yet another Guinness "Here's to St. Patrick who chased all of the snakes outta Ireland"!!!!

Good Lordy, Mr. Krams-a-lot would be immensely proud of my drunken-ass today!! hehehehe

Man, you are waaaaaayyy ahead of me. I just spent 8 hours volunteering in the heat for Habitat for Humanity. I'll be lucky to split a large beer with the lady before we crash.