Run! We're all going to die!

[SecretMaster]

Originally posted by Lord Shield: oh alright, alright. Sheesh!! If you want a job doing, you have to do itself *clambers into spellchamber, teleports to the asteroid, turns it into chocolate and eats it* back again!

Ooh, LS, how could you eat that chocolate, I'd die. I'd puke it all up in fact.

[K T Ong]

I'm migrating to Mars!

[Sir Goulum]

Originally posted by K T Ong: I'm migrating to Mars!

Actually, youv'e stirred up a good point! By then, the International Space Station *will* be done. They could have a group of men and women sent up to be the remaining humans of the Universe. They could have the Station stocked up with food and water so they could survive!!!!

[K T Ong]

Originally posted by Sir Goulum: Actually, youv'e stirred up a good point! By then, the International Space Station *will* be done. They could have a group of men and women sent up to be the remaining humans of the Universe. They could have the Station stocked up with food and water so they could survive!!!!

I wonder how many of us will be lucky enough to be chosen -- or how they'll choose...

[Sir Goulum]

Originally posted by K T Ong: quote: Originally posted by Sir Goulum: Actually, youv'e stirred up a good point! By then, the International Space Station *will* be done. They could have a group of men and women sent up to be the remaining humans of the Universe. They could have the Station stocked up with food and water so they could survive!!!!

I wonder how many of us will be lucky enough to be chosen -- or how they'll choose...[/QUOTE]1 man and 1 woman from selective countries um....erm....and they have to be in excellent mental and physical health!

[The Hunter of Jahanna]

posted 07-24-2002 11:19 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally posted by K T Ong: quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Originally posted by Sir Goulum: Actually, youv'e stirred up a good point! By then, the International Space Station *will* be done. They could have a group of men and women sent up to be the remaining humans of the Universe. They could have the Station stocked up with food and water so they could survive!!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I wonder how many of us will be lucky enough to be chosen -- or how they'll choose...

They will choose just like it says in the bible. Only the true believers will be chosen to ascend into the kingdom of the international space station.........

But seriously,to hell with the space station!! I am going to stock up on amunition , heavy weapons and canned food. Then I will go out to the caves in Yellow Stone and pick one to turn into my secret command center. After the asteroid hits it will be just me and the roaches!!!

[ 07-24-2002, 11:25 PM: Message edited by: The Hunter of Jahanna ]

[Sir Goulum]

Originally posted by The Hunter of Jahanna: To hell with the space station!! I am going to stock up on amunition , heavy weapons and canned food. Then I will go out to the caves in Yellow Stone and pick one to turn into my secret command center. After the asteroid hits it will be just me and the roaches!!!

Gonna command the roaches, are we?

[Mojo]

More to the point...*who* will choose? Who has that right?

[Hayashi]

For another perspective on the matter, look here.
Here are my thoughts:
First of all, not enough data has been collected to accurately predict the asteroid's trajectory. As more data is collected over the next few weeks, astronomers will be able to refine their calculations of its trajectory.
Secondly, assuming that it is indeed on a collision course, well, we have 17 years to do something about it.
Thirdly, the object is too small to cause the extinction of the human race, although the consequences of an impact would still be catastrophic. Given that 70% of the Earth's suface is water, odds are that the object will plunge into an ocean somewhere -- what a tidal wave it would make!!
Fourthly, given the fact that all of humanity faces such a dire threat, I still have faith that this would galvanise all people & unite the world to attempt to find a way to avert this disaster.
Of course, if the object *does* impact the Earth, wherever that may happen, I guess the amount of dust thrown up would probably give rise to a "nuclear winter" scenario...
Lastly, the consequences of theimpact depend very much on the make up of the asteroid. If it is rock/metal, we're in for troble. If it is a looser conglomeration of debris, then things may not be so bad.

[Davros]

Originally posted by andrewas: quote: Originally posted by Redblueflare: quote: Originally posted by Beaumanoir: Amen, But, Uhh... Wouldn't That Just Send Lots Of Little Asteroids At Us? O Well, They'd Burn Up On Entry. But Seriously, They Could Just Nuke It Couldn't They?

Well scientists have talked about this thing before, and blowing it to peices is a good possibility. A big asteroid does a lot more damage than many small meteorites. I don't know if a nuke could completely destroy it though. Maybe just blast if off course.[/QUOTE]Um. Depends on how small the asteroids are. A 2 kilometer rock is not going to wipe out all life on earth, although the lifeforms most people would consider important (dogs, cats, *us*) would be doomed.

A swarm of ten thousand smaller rocks could potentialy wipe out a much greater proportion of life, since instead of one huge blast and a massive shock waves, you have thousands of blasts and thousands of shocks.

You cant nuke it unless its still a fair distance away, and even then its risky. What you could do is use a barrage of nukes detonating 100 Ks out to nudge it off course. If you do it early enough you dont need to give it that much total energy, and if your smart (read: have a big computer) it woudnt be to hard to put it onto a earth/moon gravity sling into the sun. It would probably require Earths total stock of nuclear and thermonuclear wepaonry, at least.[/QB][/QUOTE]Don't know that this argument sounds all that credible to me. Burn up rate in the atmosphere will be proportional to exposed surface area, so you are going to get a better overall destruction of mass in the atmosphere through prior fragmentation. If the overall mass is big enough to cause an exinction event at impact then fragmentation would be preffered.