. 24/7 Space News .
IRON AND ICE
Are NEOs Coming to Earth?
by Launchspace Staff Writers
Bethesda, MD (SPX) Jun 21, 2017


The impact of a 1000-foot meteor would be so great that it would be impossible to slow it down by natural causes. The impact would vaporize the space rock and throw all the crumbled rocks from the Earth's mantle into the air. Some rocks would even speed into space while most would spread around the planet.

Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are comets and asteroids in heliocentric orbits that have been influenced by planetary flybys causing them to approach Earth. Comets are composed mostly of water ice and dust particles that were formed in the cold outer planet system.

Most of the rocky asteroids were formed in the warmer inner solar system between the orbits of Mars and Earth. There is a great deal of scientific interest in NEOs because they are the unchanged remnant debris from the solar system formation process of some 4.6 billion years ago.

In addition, there is growing fear that a large asteroid will hit Earth and wipe out all or part of the world's population and habitation. Such asteroids come in all sizes and are the product of the initial agglomeration of the inner planets including Mercury, Venus Earth and Mars.

Predictions of possible large Neo-Earth encounters are occasionally announced, but there have been no recent life-threatening large asteroid collisions with Earth. Nevertheless, often pieces of natural space rocks such as shards of comets or asteroids do survive the Earth's atmosphere and strike the ground.

In fact, thousands of tiny pieces of space rock, called meteorites, do hit the ground annually. Most of these events are unpredictable and go unnoticed.

The last recorded hit of a noticeable meteor was in February 2013. With an estimated mass of about 10 tons and over 50 feet wide, the Chelyabinsk Asteroid streaked across the sky above Russia's Ural Mountains and exploded with the power of an atomic bomb.

About 1,100 people were injured from shattered windows, an after effect of the sonic boom. Because such objects come from heliocentric orbits their speed at encounter is typically around 33,000 mph. Atmospheric encounters at these speeds usually result in break ups at altitudes of 18 to 32 miles.

Earlier this month astronomers from the Czech Academy of Science claim they have evidence that Earth is at constant risk of asteroid collisions. They discovered that the Taurid Stream could catapult a 1000-foot wide asteroid into the earth's oceans or land masses. A meteor strike of this size could wipe out entire regions if it hits.

The frequency of meteor showers is high during the months of October and November when Earth passes the Taurid stream of asteroids. Czech observations indicated two large rock formations measuring 650 feet and 980 feet wide. These scientists reported the risk of large asteroid collisions with earth increases annually as the planet passes through the Taurid Stream.

The impact of a 1000-foot meteor would be so great that it would be impossible to slow it down by natural causes. The impact would vaporize the space rock and throw all the crumbled rocks from the Earth's mantle into the air. Some rocks would even speed into space while most would spread around the planet.

A common question is: What can we do if such an event is ever predicted with accuracy? There is no clear and simple answer. Any decision to do anything would depend on the expected size and mass of the meteor, how much notice is given in terms of time and an assessment of the options at hand.

As of today, we have few, if any, options that might work. The program and funds needed to prepare for such an event would be huge, while the odds of such a possible catastrophe occurring in any given time frame are very low. In summary, the cost-risk ratio is very high, discouraging the needed investment and maintenance costs of a planetary defense system.

IRON AND ICE
B612 Creates Asteroid Institute
Silicon Valley CA (SPX) Jun 14, 2017
The B612 Foundation has announced the formation of a new science and technology institute dedicated to protecting Earth from asteroid impacts. Dr. Ed Lu, three time US astronaut and Co-founder of B612, will serve as Executive Director of the new B612 Asteroid Institute, collaborating with a team of planetary scientists and engineers from around the world to conduct research, technology developme ... read more

Related Links
Launchspace
Asteroid and Comet Mission News, Science and Technology


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

IRON AND ICE
Plants to feed Earth and beyond

Orion Kicks Off Summer with Series of Safety Tests

Teachers doubt most students interested in subjects that promote space careers

Russia launches space freighter to ISS

IRON AND ICE
OHB Italia sign contract to launch PRISMA Italian satellite with Arianespace

Kazakh man dies in fire after Russian rocket launch

NASA and Industry Team Successfully Test Orion Launch Abort Motor

India's 'Baahubali' GSLV MK III Lifts Less Luggage Than Lighter Rockets

IRON AND ICE
NASA, French Space Agency Express Commitment to Joint Exploration

Martian Crater Provides Reminder of Apollo Moonwalk

MAVEN's top 10 discoveries at Mars

Russian Institute to Start Long-Haul Mars Mission Simulations in November

IRON AND ICE
New broadcasting satellite fails to enter preset orbit

China to launch four more probes before 2021

China launches remote-sensing micro-nano satellites

China's cargo spacecraft completes second in-orbit refueling

IRON AND ICE
Boeing Streamlining Defense and Space Unit to boost competitiveness

Trudeau under pressure to reject China bid for satellite firm

Jumpstart goes into alliance with major aerospace and defence group ADS

Thomas Pesquet returns to Earth

IRON AND ICE
Changing the color of laser light on the femtosecond time scale

Researchers create 3-D printed tensegrity objects capable of dramatic shape change

New form of carbon that's hard as a rock, yet elastic, like rubber

Northrop Grumman tests flat-panel radar

IRON AND ICE
New Hunt for Earth-like Planets

NASA releases Kepler Survey Catalog with 100s of new exoplanet candidates

Astronomers Explain Formation of Seven Exoplanets Around TRAPPIST-1

OU astrophysicist identifies composition of Earth-size planets in TRAPPIST-1 system

IRON AND ICE
New Horizons Team Digs into New Data on Next Flyby Target

King of the Gods: Jupiter Dated to Be Oldest Planet in the Solar System

A whole new Jupiter with first science results from Juno

First results from Juno show cyclones and massive magnetism









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.