NASA predicts that an asteroid buzzing by in 2032 might hit Earth

[Creeper]

Yes, but a controlled push on a different course would be more predictable. If they could be sure that it'd shatter into pieces small enough to disintegrate in our atmosphere, that would probably be optimal. There's still the possibility that those pieces could destroy satellites or space stations.

I think the nudge is more than likely what they would do. It takes less force, maybe even non-nuclear and it is more likely to succeed simply because we just have to nudge it slightly in the opposite direction the earth is traveling. Even an impact that would slow it down would cause it to miss the earth. But I would still have a backup plan in case the first projectile misses. The space rock is still traveling at 38,000 miles per hour and it would be incredibly difficult to hit something moving that fast even if we have done it before.

At the same time, I wonder if the temptation to use a nuke would be too great to resist. I have to believe there are guys in the Pentagon that would love to know how a nuke works in space. We kind of know the theory, but seeing an actual detonation in the ether of space would confirm our theories or alter them. Plus, it would be cool to watch on a sure to be recorded video.

 

[gtb1943]

They've already done it once, though I doubt that one was spinning much. Not sure what they'd do if it was. Personally, if they could guarantee pulverization, I'd prefer that.

that is the way I see it; if you can destroy it, no one ever has to worry about it again.

 

[gtb1943]

I think the nudge is more than likely what they would do. It takes less force, maybe even non-nuclear and it is more likely to succeed simply because we just have to nudge it slightly in the opposite direction the earth is traveling. Even an impact that would slow it down would cause it to miss the earth. But I would still have a backup plan in case the first projectile misses. The space rock is still traveling at 38,000 miles per hour and it would be incredibly difficult to hit something moving that fast even if we have done it before.

At the same time, I wonder if the temptation to use a nuke would be too great to resist. I have to believe there are guys in the Pentagon that would love to know how a nuke works in space. We kind of know the theory, but seeing an actual detonation in the ether of space would confirm our theories or alter them. Plus, it would be cool to watch on a sure to be recorded video.

I can absolutely guarantee that a number of the wonks and nerds infesting the bowels of the Pentagon would want to see that. And the generals and others who dream of weaponizing everything would love it too.

 

[HungryLion]

In the words of happy Gilmore. Just give it a little tappy tap taperoo.

 

[Aikmaniac]

Of course I just watched a movie called Greenland (I would definitely recommend it if you haven's seen it yet) about this particular subject. It's more humbling than the Michael Bay music video aka Armageddon.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

They increased the possibility of it hitting Earth. It now has a 2.3% chance of impacting Earth on December 22, 2032. This probability has increased from over 1% in January 2025. Astronomers plan to use the James Webb Space Telescope in March to get a better estimate of asteroid 2024 YR4's size and trajectory.

Sometimes it's easy to forget (as we're grabbing coffee, paying bills, and debating if pineapple belongs on pizza) that we’re just chilling on this rock, spinning at 1,000 mph, hurtling around the sun at 67,000 mph, all while dodging space debris, asteroids, and who knows what else flying through the galaxy.

The universe is basically a giant, chaotic pinball machine. The fact that we don’t get smacked by space rocks more often is kind of a miracle. It’s very humbling to think about.

Yes, the dinosaurs had this problem. They did send a spaceship up to deflect it, but their technology failed. They should have used voodoo. No worries, though. I 've done a voodoo curse to make sure this one misses.

 

[Runwildboys]

Yes, the dinosaurs had this problem. They did send a spaceship up to deflect it, but their technology failed. They should have used voodoo. No worries, though. I 've done a voodoo curse to make sure this one misses.

You FOOL!!! Voodoo curses always backfire!

 

[Reverend Conehead]

You FOOL!!! Voodoo curses always backfire!

Wanna bet? I used voodoo to really put Amber Heard in her place ... oh, wait.

 

[VaqueroTD]

From what I've read, it's too late to veer its course. But we'll have plenty of time to know where it hits and evacuate. Most likely lands in the ocean or the vast expanses of no man's land like Siberia and the other asteroid that hit in the early 20th century. What's scary is they are just now releasing a telescope that will try and track these 'small' asteroids which I guess they only know about 10-20% tops of where they are at the moment. Hopefully China, Europe or another country has a plan, because at the rate this country is going, not sure we'll have enough qualified scientists and experts to solve this.

 

[gtb1943]

From what I've read, it's too late to veer its course. But we'll have plenty of time to know where it hits and evacuate. Most likely lands in the ocean or the vast expanses of no man's land like Siberia and the other asteroid that hit in the early 20th century. What's scary is they are just now releasing a telescope that will try and track these 'small' asteroids which I guess they only know about 10-20% tops of where they are at the moment. Hopefully China, Europe or another country has a plan, because at the rate this country is going, not sure we'll have enough qualified scientists and experts to solve this.

you cannot depend on NASA to be blunt. Watching for dangerous Asteroids needs a dedicated effort. The equipment is there, it just needs to be organized world wide. Now if it was worth a bucket of warm spit this would be something for the UN but they make NASA look like world beaters.

now as regards actually taking action, that has to be a military mission. That is what the military does best, blowing things up.

 

[Creeper]

From what I've read, it's too late to veer its course. But we'll have plenty of time to know where it hits and evacuate. Most likely lands in the ocean or the vast expanses of no man's land like Siberia and the other asteroid that hit in the early 20th century. What's scary is they are just now releasing a telescope that will try and track these 'small' asteroids which I guess they only know about 10-20% tops of where they are at the moment. Hopefully China, Europe or another country has a plan, because at the rate this country is going, not sure we'll have enough qualified scientists and experts to solve this.

At first I was skeptical but then I starting thinking about it and this seems to be true, unfortunately. Given what we know, the asteroid is less than 1.3 billion miles from earth. That seems far enough away to easily deflect it. But we would need a rocket traveling at at least the same speed as the asteroid to hit if at half its current distance at about 650 million miles. That would take at least 2 years. And that's assuming a direct course which is probably not possible. I don't know if we have a nuke capable rocket that can travel at 38,000 miles per hour either. We have space probes that can travel as fast as 430,000 miles per hour, but I don't know how long it takes to get them up to that speed or if they can carry a 1000 lb nuclear warhead. It may be hard to believe but it may take longer to get a nuke off the ground and to an interception point than it will for the asteroid to reach earth. We should start thinking of a plan for the asteroid that comes after this one.

I think Elon Musk's light speed engine, as he call it, is capable of speed up to 135,000 miles per hours but I am not sure how far away that engine is from production. At that speed maybe we would have a chance to intercept the asteroid?

 

[gtb1943]

At first I was skeptical but then I starting thinking about it and this seems to be true, unfortunately. Given what we know, the asteroid is less than 1.3 billion miles from earth. That seems far enough away to easily deflect it. But we would need a rocket traveling at at least the same speed as the asteroid to hit if at half its current distance at about 650 million miles. That would take at least 2 years. And that's assuming a direct course which is probably not possible. I don't know if we have a nuke capable rocket that can travel at 38,000 miles per hour either. We have space probes that can travel as fast as 430,000 miles per hour, but I don't know how long it takes to get them up to that speed or if they can carry a 1000 lb nuclear warhead. It may be hard to believe but it may take longer to get a nuke off the ground and to an interception point than it will for the asteroid to reach earth. We should start thinking of a plan for the asteroid that comes after this one.

I think Elon Musk's light speed engine, as he call it, is capable of speed up to 135,000 miles per hours but I am not sure how far away that engine is from production. At that speed maybe we would have a chance to intercept the asteroid?

or set something up for it to hit. Put something in its way. At the speed it is traveling, it would not have to hit much for it to shatter.