NASA’s going to do what?

[Jersey mike]

Not getting a good feeling about this idea. Images of Wile E. Coyote and Marvin the Martian mixed together with Acme products keep coming to mind as I read this.

Messing with the orbit of a space object isn’t what I believe to be prudent at this time, I mean what could go wrong? Sounds like something a bunch of guys at 3am sitting around a fire after a little smoke and booze shooting the bull coming up with this idea. How this idea was sold to NASA is what makes m e wonder, or is there something out there headed our way….hmmm.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/10/06/nasa-asteroid-dart-dimorphos/

https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/dart

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=STeVTzWelns

[carolinarider09]

Actually it looks like a pretty good idea.  Some day we will have to do something if we want to survive.  Maybe not in our life time or your kids life time but....

When was the last big strike or impact?

Most Destructive Asteroid Impacts In Human History

Experts and scientist researchers have stated that in the past 600 million years, about 60 asteroids or similar objects of 3 miles or larger in size have hit the earth. Three ground impact events on land have been determined to have caused the mass extinction of life on the planet. There is also known evidence of ocean impacts.

Time and again, it has been debated whether ocean impact events could cause a mega tsunami or just a mantle plume (volcanism). The following asteroid impact events created huge craters in the past and may have affected life on earth.

First on the list is the massive 118.061-mile radius Vredefort Crater located in Free State, South Africa, which hit 2 billion years ago.

Second is the 80.7783-mile radius Sudbury Basin located in Ontario, Canada, which hit 1.8 billion years ago.

Third is the 55.9234-mile radius Acraman Crater in South Australia, Australia which hit Earth 580 million years ago.

The fourth is the 25-74.5645-mile radius Woodleigh Crater in Western Australia, Australia which hit 360 million years ago.
Fifth is the 62.1371-mile radius Manicouagan Crater in Quebec, Canada, which hit 215 million years ago.

Sixth is the 43.496-mile radius Morokweng Crater in North West, South Africa, which hit 145 million years ago.

Seventh is the 40.3891-mile radius Kara Crater in Nenetsia, Russia, which hit 70.3 million years ago.

Eighth is the 106-186.411-mile radius Chicxulub Crater in Yucatan, Mexico, which hit 65 million years ago. This particular impact event has been confirmed as having caused mass extinction on earth at that time.

Ninth is the 62.1371-mile radius Popigai Crater in Siberia, Russia, which hit 35.7 million years ago.

Tenth on the list but as destructive is the 52.8166-mile radius Chesapeake Bay Crater in Virginia, the United States, which hit 35 million years ago.


https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/biggest-asteroid-impacts-in-earth-s-history.html

More information on most recent.

https://www.businessinsider.in/the-last-major-asteroid-to-hit-earth-destroyed-500-square-kilometers-and-it-could-have-been-much-worse/articleshow/70782507.cms

[Skinhead]

Just trying to avoid this.  Look how close it came to taking out the visitor's center.

[luftkoph]

https://cse.umn.edu/mgs/ancient-meteorite-deposit-minnesota

Description of how violent a meteorite strike could be

[carolinarider09]

The idea is simple .

All you have to do is nudge the object in the right direction and the right distance from the earth.  It should not take much of a nudge (depending on the object mass).

It will take, as the say, practice, practice, practice............

[Moonshot_1]

I'm confident the rocket strike will be successful and as advertised.

5 years from now, on it's newly directed orbit, the asteroid will slam into a Martian moon breaking it into pieces. One of which the size of Texas, now being pulled into it's own solar orbit, will miss the Earth but slam into our moon breaking it up into 4 or 5 large chunks.
One of the chunks, the size of Asia, misses the earth entirely.

But two others with a combined area of Two Texases, will strike the Earth. Probably near...Texas.

This will lead to Climate Change.

[Valkorado]

   Youse guys are killin' me.

Elon knows.
https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-asteroid-hit-earth

It's the ones we don't see coming that are hard to nudge.    Best of luck to NASA.  And to humanity.

[Jersey mike]

I was cracking myself up yesterday thinking about this.

I think some people at NASA are hitting the bong a little too much, who were the guys behind this idea, Hyde, Foreman, Kelso and Leo?

This (could be a) is a perfect skit for SNL.

Then I remembered LT in the Waterboy
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mWBdYHltLlo

Does the doomsday clock start on impact?

Just because we think it’s a good idea and just because we can do this doesn’t mean we should be doing this. I keep seeing one thing bounce off another which leads to all kinds of things going haywire out there.

And then there’s the meteor and it’s moon minding their own business for the last billion years or so just flying around space enjoying the scenery and in a year earthlings are going to reach out and punch it right in the nose for no reason other than because we wanted to. Who knows what’s going to happen when mr. meteor tells his big brother.

Had to add this;
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t9wmWZbr_wQ

[carolinarider09]

I may be wrong, out in left field as they might say but.....

I miss the old days when NASA really worked for us, the good ole U.S.A.  They were efficient, oriented to the identified outcome and good at it.   

We beat the Russians, who had us by the short ones af the first.  And then..... NASA allowed the news media (AKA  "foul ups, bleeps,  and blunders") to force an unsafe launch of the shuttle. 

I remember the day.  I was working the Night shift (well swing) and got up late in the morning and the wife said "It blew up".  I blamed, among others, the guy on NBC News because on the previous day (or so) when they scrubbed the launch, the reporter on NBC''s Today show started out his broadcast with "Foul ups, bleeps, and blunders.

Funny thing is, I just did a search on those terms and cannot find them anywhere.  Must be a bad recollection but I doubt it.  I can see his face and hear his voice.

Final point, NASA, the Untied States Military, today, all suffer due to politicization of their leadership.  I miss the good ole days. 

[scooperhsd]

One bit of GOOD news about NASA - this morning, they successfully launched the James Webb Space telescope. This $10 BILLION dollar project is supposed to replace the Hubble.

The Webb is an IR telescope, and it has a 21 feet mirror. It will be placed into orbit around the Sun, about 1 million miles from earth, And should be able to look back into time further than any existing telescope.

[Serk]

In other news.... Is there something they know or strongly suspect? Or just being wise and making plans in case?

"NASA 'looks to the heavens' for help: Agency enlists 24 theologians to assess how the world would react to the discovery of alien life on distant planets and how it might change our perception of gods and creation"

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10343387/NASA-enlists-24-theologians-assess-world-react-discovery-alien-life.html

[carolinarider09]

There are several concepts here.  The first is the notion that if we "humans" were not created specifically and for a singular purpose and life on earth is just a random event, then it is hard to accept there is not other forms of life in the unlimited universe in which we live.

Narrow it down to jus what we can see, there are thousands of galaxies like ours, there must be life on another planet is another galaxy just based on the random chance.

For those of us who believe in "God", The Creator, it is somewhat hard to accept that God would only create life on one singular planet in this universe of galaxies.  Why would he limit his "creations". 

Therefore, there is "life" on other planets. 

[Jess from VA]

That has always been my thinking on the subject too Bill.

How could an unlimited universe have evolved life on only one planet?  (beyond fungus and amoebas). 

It's the light years in every direction forever that always cramps my brain (not other life out there).

Of course the biggest nightmare is if we do finally make contact with other beings, and they turn out to be democrats.   

[Jersey mike]

One bit of GOOD news about NASA - this morning, they successfully launched the James Webb Space telescope. This $10 BILLION dollar project is supposed to replace the Hubble.

The Webb is an IR telescope, and it has a 21 feet mirror. It will be placed into orbit around the Sun, about 1 million miles from earth, And should be able to look back into time further than any existing telescope.

I can’t believe someone revised this post, I forgot all about it.

I read about the launching of the telescope but never looked into it. Hard to believe the Hubble will be decommissioned, seems like yesterday it just started sending back amazing photos.

[scooperhsd]

One bit of GOOD news about NASA - this morning, they successfully launched the James Webb Space telescope. This $10 BILLION dollar project is supposed to replace the Hubble.

The Webb is an IR telescope, and it has a 21 feet mirror. It will be placed into orbit around the Sun, about 1 million miles from earth, And should be able to look back into time further than any existing telescope.

I can’t believe someone revised this post, I forgot all about it.

I read about the launching of the telescope but never looked into it. Hard to believe the Hubble will be decommissioned, seems like yesterday it just started sending back amazing photos.

I thought a NASA topic might be the best place for that bit of news. NASA has had its good moments and bad, like anything else from humans.

[carolinarider09]

Of course the biggest nightmare is if we do finally make contact with other beings, and they turn out to be democrats.   

Now that is both funny and "fearful".....   

[Serk]

Of course the biggest nightmare is if we do finally make contact with other beings, and they turn out to be democrats.   

This, or a variation thereof, is a real legit concern... The "Dark Forest" answer to the Fermi Paradox.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAUJYP8tnRE

[carolinarider09]

This, or a variation thereof, is a real legit concern... The "Dark Forest" answer to the Fermi Paradox.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAUJYP8tnRE

An interesting video, which contains some things I have considered. 

Several things to note. 

1. The notion of Christianity - "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".  A good staring point for our exploration into space.  Were we choosen and given this for a purpose???   One could make a case that if anyone were to "expand" it should be someone that would do as the last part of the video stated.

2.  Our galaxy is large, big, expansive.  But every night you go out (with your telescope and there is not moon in the sky) you find several other galaxies.   We are not alone.

3.  Biologically we humans are based on the notion of an oxygen concentration of a certain level in the atmosphere.  This limits that planets that could support life like ours and I am sure this will also be a factor for other life forms for, if by chance or creation, we are probably not all oxygen based.  So, unless we pose a "threat" to another life form, they would have no real reason for our planet. 

4.  There are lots, and lots and lots of things running around in space.  If I needed raw materials for my life functions, further my people, you name it, I would probably just look for something like you would find in our asteroid belt.  Plenty of minerals there, no need to dig up a planet and if you wanted to get them back here, it would be easier to not have to escape a planets gravity field to do so.  Asteroids would be easier.

5.  So why leave earth?  Two real reasons, it is who we are and we will need the materials sooner or later.  And, if you really wanted to make a case of it, it is what we have been programmed for.

And last, but not least, we, what we have formed here in the United States of America (if you live by our founding documents) are the best example of what human kind can become.  Yes we have strayed.  There is another quote but what is says is we just need to keep trying and be the best we can be.

We are not alone in this.

[scooperhsd]

There will be, at some point in humanities future, where we have expanded our numbers too much for this planet to support (no, I don't pretend to know what that point will be - just that we are not there yet). I would hope, before that becomes a concern, that we have figured out a faster than light drive, or constructed huge vessels that can take vast numbers of us , out to some planets out of the solar system (and maybe even out of the Milky Way galaxy). Or maybe even we can find some moons within the solar system that we can colonize. When we get out there, I hope our descendents are smart enough to go in peace.

[Jersey mike]

One bit of GOOD news about NASA - this morning, they successfully launched the James Webb Space telescope. This $10 BILLION dollar project is supposed to replace the Hubble.

The Webb is an IR telescope, and it has a 21 feet mirror. It will be placed into orbit around the Sun, about 1 million miles from earth, And should be able to look back into time further than any existing telescope.

I did just a little reading on this new telescope and this sounds pretty cool. It’s going to be positioned almost 1M miles from earth and staying in orbit with Earth. It is quite different from Hubble using different spectrums to take photos which I have not idea what that means so I’m looking forward to when it starts sending pics in 6 months or so, even though with the basic computer monitor or even tv screen I don’t think an untrained eye will notice. I need to find out how deep into space it will see.

[hubcapsc]

It’s going to be positioned almost 1M miles from earth and staying in orbit with Earth.

I pretty sure it is going to go to the place labeled "L2" at this link,
and be in orbit around the sun...

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/754/what-is-a-lagrange-point/

-Mike

[scooperhsd]

There are several LaGrange points, depending what your point of view. There are some that are part of the Earth Moon Sun system, Can't see why there would not be ones invloving Sun, Earth and the other planets as well.

[carolinarider09]

The largest mirror I have ever built was/is a 24" mirror.  Its coated with aluminum.  Back in the early 60's a friend of mine built and 6" Newtonian telescope and I helped him silver the mirror in the High School's Chemistry Lab. 

Back in the mid 1800's a man named Leno Foucault invented a way to test a mirror for is surface shape.  It was/is a very accurate way and a very simple machine to build, a light, a track, a couple of razor blades, a way to tile the platform (threaded bolt and insert) and some way to measure travel.  I used it on several mirrors.  However, when they built the Hubble space telescope they used some other "new method" and it failed.  So, they needed to add a correction lens.

It appears the new telescope will be composed of hexagon "segments" not a single "platform".  It will be interesting to see how "sharp" the new telescope's focused image is. 

[RP#62]

Regarding the existence of alien life, I always liked this Arthur C Clarke quote: “Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”

Also this one from my youngest son:  "We don't need any extra terrestrials.  We have enough."

-RP

[Gryphon]

The meek shall inherit the Earth; the rest of us are leaving. 

[Jersey mike]

I’ll venture to say someone out there is saying “I told you so”

Update;

https://www.yahoo.com/news/something-weird-going-asteroid-nasa-093047012.html

[hubcapsc]

This isn't too long and is really cool... before I read it I saw a few
images of the boulders that were ejected from the collision that
are now in orbit around Dimorphos... like a small solar system...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimorphos

-Mike