Asteroid attack: Putting Earth's defences to the test Posted: 2 months ago by Bornbad
IT LOOKS inconsequential enough, the faint little spot moving leisurely across the sky. The mountain-top telescope that just detected it is taking it very seriously, though. It is an asteroid, one never seen before.
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Posted: 2 months ago by drogue:
so much (mass) so that detonating a nuke near it in space would not provide a sufficient impulse so late in the game to cause a miss.
I completely understand the idea that altering the object's course earlier will achieve greater results per unit of force.

But I'm always confused about this: Wouldn't detonating a nuclear missile in a near vacuum "near" the object have very little impact (compared with one exploded in our atmosphere, creating a shockwave)? It seems monumentally difficult for me to envision the correct distance for the desired effect.

It seems like more than maybe a strike more than a kilometer or two away from the object (still a very precise measurement for such a mission) would have little effect, if any. But if you get too close, you'd risk shattering the object, or part of it, without knowing the size of the rubble.

Also, since this mission would need to be initiated years, probably decades ahead of the predicted impact, we'd need to practically send a fleet of nukes, as backup, with staggered launches and trajectories, and increasingly stepped-up power.

Then there's the nightmare scenario of getting our math wrong, and actually sending the thing toward us.

Gah! *Lights bong, sets controls for the heart of the sun.*
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