View Full Version : NASA Slams Cuts That Put Earth at Risk of Killer Asteroids.
Rare, not so much lately.
The House Science Committee, chaired by Texas congressman Rep. Lamar Smith (R), welcomed John Holdren, President Barack Obama’s Director of the Office of Science and Technology, Gen. William Shelton, the commander of U.S. Air Force’s Space Command and NASA Administrator Gen. Charles F. Bolden on Tuesday morning for a hearing entitled “Threats from Space: A Review of U.S. Government Efforts to Track and Mitigate Asteroids and Meteors.”
Holdren, Shelton and Bolden emphasized that while odds of a devastating strike from an object from space are small, the consequences could be enormous. While dozens of objects a meter or more in size strike the Earth’s atmosphere every year, most burn up harmlessly in the upper limits of the stratosphere.
and
“We are trying very diligently, as I said before, with the president’s budget,” he said, “to be in a position where we are able to respond.” Congress charged NASA with figuring out the problem, then declined to fund the research, he said.
NASA slams spending cuts that put Earth at risk of undetected killer asteroids (http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/19/nasa-slams-spending-cuts-that-put-earth-at-risk-of-undetected-killer-asteroids/)
PA5COR
03-19-2013, 05:59 PM
As long they drop on the republican headquarters...
w0aew
03-19-2013, 06:07 PM
I prefer the old days of meteor ignorance.
I prefer the old days of meteor ignorance.
The fall of the Roman Empire has been attributed to a meteor crash in Ireland. It caused Global changes that went far beyond the Roman Empire from circa 520 -540 AD. aThis was documented in a NOVA episode that I saw a few years ago. Ignorance is not an option. The eventual result would be what happened to rhe dinosuars the day they went extinct.
You go can't back home. but you can go on.
N2CHX
03-20-2013, 08:38 AM
Meh, we're too busy spending trillions of dollars killing people to bother with funding stuff that could save the species as a whole. Killing people is more fun.
Amazing how much real life resembles an episode of Star Trek sometimes.
n2ize
03-20-2013, 11:30 AM
Meh, we're too busy spending trillions of dollars killing people to bother with funding stuff that could save the species as a whole. Killing people is more fun.
Amazing how much real life resembles an episode of Star Trek sometimes.
Because we have two corrupt political parties running this place and both are corporate owned and corrupt beyond our wildest imaginations. Yes instead of doing something the people either don't care , apathy... or else they continue to dream that one party is good and the other bad and if only one could just take over everything will be good. I guess thats what they mean by the "American dream".
KC2UGV
03-20-2013, 11:49 AM
Meh, we're too busy spending trillions of dollars killing people to bother with funding stuff that could save the species as a whole. Killing people is more fun.
Amazing how much real life resembles an episode of Star Trek sometimes.
'Mericuh! Fuck yeah!
How much would such a system cost? Maybe a few fewer lavish vacations and golf trips could help pay for it?
n2ize
03-20-2013, 03:33 PM
Rare, not so much lately.
and
NASA slams spending cuts that put Earth at risk of undetected killer asteroids (http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/19/nasa-slams-spending-cuts-that-put-earth-at-risk-of-undetected-killer-asteroids/)
Well, right now Obama is in Tel Aviv so we'll have to wait till he gets back and remembers he's the president of the United States.
All you liberals elected that Porch Monkey-
What are we going to do ??? Just better kiss your ass good bye
All you liberals elected that Porch Monkey-
What are we going to do ??? Just better kiss your ass good bye
now, THAT's out of line.
counting down 3...2...1...
Critique Obama's (or any other elected official's) policies all you want but the buck stops at racist speech.
Plenty of other places around the 'Net for it.
Not here.
Thread closed while we discuss additional actions.
All you liberals elected that Porch Monkey-
What are we going to do ??? Just better kiss your ass good bye
How's that family reunion coming along?
http://i50.tinypic.com/11qp8c8.png
All you liberals elected that Porch Monkey-
Time to crawl back under your rock, you stupid, racist jerk-off.
KG4CGC
03-20-2013, 06:43 PM
All you liberals elected that Porch Monkey-
What are we going to do ??? Just better kiss your ass good bye
Are you seriously going to pull that shit? Crawling out from under your rock, I guess you're proud of yourself. My grand daughter, who's 9 years old now, is Black. She is the future as I see it. Another 40 years and most humans will be of a tanned complexion. Tell you what, Under a Rock boy, how about you come by my neck of the woods and talk that way. Think you have the stones, Under My Rock boy?
GODDAMN! I can't tell you how disgusted I am by people of your ilk!
Do society a favor and stay under that rock of yours. Maybe the people in your town can build a new library over it.
KC2UGV
03-20-2013, 06:49 PM
All you liberals elected that Porch Monkey-
What are we going to do ??? Just better kiss your ass good bye
Here's your sign:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cxq8Z7UGPwQ/TN_qYxNsEmI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/cGOOkqjgvOs/s1600/jackass-award-300x300.jpg
My grand daughter, who's 9 years old now, is Black.
(Cleavon Little)Can I let you in on a little fam'ly secret? My grandmotherwife wasIS Dutch...
(/Cleavon Little)
Hi. Thanks for the license plate.
9165
It's in the hands of a gen uine LIb'rul.
Is it time for the Second Week of Deer Camp yet?
ad4mg
03-20-2013, 07:08 PM
K8PG: The liberals here are as forgiving as they are vicious. I'd bet an apology would clear all of this up in no time at all.
Just sayin'.
All you liberals elected that Porch Monkey-
What are we going to do ??? Just better kiss your ass good bye1. I am not a Liberal.
2. I didn't vote for him.
3. That slur was totally uncalled for.
I thought better of you. Sadly, I see that I was mistaken. But then, I'm used to disappointment.
WØTKX
03-20-2013, 07:53 PM
And that licence plate is blue? Irony is Ironical.
Racism is still considered to be popular and populist. It's a freaking embarrassment to humanity at large.
Poking fun at racism in a fierce manner, talking about it, and exposing it is the best way.
Kind of a razor's edge, but getting edgy and in somebody's face about it is completely deserved.
'PG's statement was not funny or cute. I like poking fun at it.
http://www.demotivationalposters.org/image/demotivational-poster/0806/racism-ducks-niggers-black-race-racism-demotivational-poster-1213915896.jpg
Deviating the thread back onto John's initial topic for a moment:
I wonder how much of the decision to cut program funding has to do with the fact that the success rate of numerous amateur astronomers who volunteer their time tracking NEOs and earth crossers rivals that of the big observatories?
On any given night there's a fair amount of glass pointed at the cosmos and not all of it is commercial or government-managed. Odds are those telescopes will catch whatever it is that can hurt us if it's transitory or periodic in nature.
A nearby GRB or wandering black hole? We won't detect the former until the wave front arrives at Earth and in the case of the latter there's not a damned thing we can do about it.
Deviating the thread back onto John's initial topic for a moment:
I wonder how much of the decision to cut program funding has to do with the fact that the success rate of numerous amateur astronomers who volunteer their time tracking NEOs and earth crossers rivals that of the big observatories?
The thing is, while these guys are really good at what they do, they do not have the equipment that NASA does. Hm, maybe this is something Hams could do. Get an Experimental license (no expiration) and run a radar station to monitor the near Earth field for intruding bodies. There's SARA and the work they do is pretty incredible for amateurs.
On any given night there's a fair amount of glass pointed at the cosmos and not all of it is commercial or government-managed. Odds are those telescopes will catch whatever it is that can hurt us if it's transitory or periodic in nature.
There are some that have extremely low albedos and are hard to see. Those are likely to go unobserved by optical telescopes.
A nearby GRB or wandering black hole? We won't detect the former until the wave front arrives at Earth and in the case of the latter there's not a damned thing we can do about it.
Faster Than Light communications might be able to warn us of GRBs. I know, I know, Einstein claims that nothing travels faster than light. Yet, there are organisms that can detect each other spontaneously at great distances in times that have been measured as FTL. Then there's this:
Quantum entanglement is a form of quantum superposition (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_superposition). When a measurement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measurement#Quantum_mechanics) is made and it causes one member of such a pair to take on a definite value (e.g., clockwise spin), the other member of this entangled pair will at any subsequent time[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spooky_action#cite_note-6) be found to have taken the appropriately correlated value (e.g., counterclockwise spin). Thus, there is a correlation between the results of measurements performed on entangled pairs, and this correlation is observed even though the entangled pair may have been separated by arbitrarily large distances.[7] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spooky_action#cite_note-7)In Quantum entanglement, part of the transfer happens instantaneously. [8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spooky_action#cite_note-8) Repeated experiments have verified that this works even when the measurements are performed more quickly than light could travel between the sites of measurement: there's no slower-than-light influence that can pass between the entangled particles. [9] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spooky_action#cite_note-9) Recent experiments have shown that this transfer occurs at least 10000 times faster than the speed of light.
Ein Called it Spooky Action (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spooky_action)
Place these on a probe or monitoring spacecraft and it is possible to get advance data sent to earth in binary or just to toggle an idiot light here.
As far as a black hole, the best we can do is leave the planet if one is headed our way. That means putting a lot more money into NASA or Private Spaceflight Companies rather than less.
WØTKX
03-21-2013, 07:48 AM
Even if amateur astronomers were organized in this fashion, we'd still need the method of eliminating the threat.
KC2UGV
03-21-2013, 07:58 AM
Even if amateur astronomers were organized in this fashion, we'd still need the method of eliminating the threat.
And, amateur astronomers need someone to report these things to.
WØTKX
03-21-2013, 08:01 AM
A new job for SkyWarn? :chin:
And, amateur astronomers need someone to report these things to.
It's not like they'll have the available data to compute the threat of the NEO that they observe. For at least that much NASA will still have to function.
I'm thinking SkyIsFallingWarn.
Faster Than Light communications might be able to warn us of GRBs. I know, I know, Einstein claims that nothing travels faster than light. Yet, there are organisms that can detect each other spontaneously at great distances in times that have been measured as FTL. Then there's this:
Ein Called it Spooky Action (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spooky_action)
The problem with Quantum Entanglement is that Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle makes it impossible to use it to transfer information.
KC2UGV
03-21-2013, 08:42 AM
The problem with Quantum Entanglement is that Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle makes it impossible to use it to transfer information.
Not exactly...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130303154958.htm
Not exactly...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130303154958.htm
A new development, interesting! Thanks, and I retract my statement.
KC2UGV
03-21-2013, 08:46 AM
A new development, interesting! Thanks, and I retract my statement.
Not too fast! It's one study so far :)
Not too fast! It's one study so far :)
Prolly cycles of natchness.
http://www.pstracks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/chart_collection_large.jpg
(Pre-emptive LAF graf)
Not too fast! It's one study so far :)
None the less, I stated what I believed was an absolute and now there's reason to question that. Ergo, I must retract it—at least for now.
None the less, I stated what I believed was an absolute and now there's reason to question that. Ergo, I must retract it—at least for now.
Not if you make it Dogma. Then it is so full of Popiness.
W4GPL
03-21-2013, 09:11 AM
Though I think we'd learn a lot from simply exploring concepts to deflect 'killer asteroids'.. based on my limited knowledge of the subject, it seems like if one of these earth killers was heading for earth, we'd be doomed no matter what efforts we put into stopping it. I think I'd rather just not know, all things being equal.
Though I think we'd learn a lot from simply exploring concepts to deflect 'killer asteroids'.. based on my limited knowledge of the subject, it seems like if one of these earth killers was heading for earth, we'd be doomed no matter what efforts we put into stopping it. I think I'd rather just not know, all things being equal.
Correct. Blow it up and the mass still remains on trajectory, with all the inherent kinetic energy.
If the asteroid contains Teh Oyal or some other precious commodity, best to deflect the thing into a parking orbit and give everyone something else to fight over.
Correct. Blow it up and the mass still remains on trajectory, with all the inherent kinetic energy.
True, but if the asteroid is discovered while it's still far enough away, a properly applied nuke—one that imparts energy to it without causing it to break up—may deflect its trajectory enough to cause it to miss us. It's a risky maneuver with only limited chance of success but if the only other option is a direct hit, it would be worth a try.
KC2UGV
03-21-2013, 10:58 AM
Correct. Blow it up and the mass still remains on trajectory, with all the inherent kinetic energy.
If the asteroid contains Teh Oyal or some other precious commodity, best to deflect the thing into a parking orbit and give everyone something else to fight over.
The problem isn't so much as total kinetic energy, but rather the kinetic energy of each object. 10 objects, with 1 KJoule of energy, impacting a steel plate will deform the steel plate's surface a bit. 1 object, with 10KJoule's of energy will punch a hole through it.
We would need to not have a single large event, rather than 10 smaller events. It's the boiling of the oceans combined with the dust kickup from a single large impact to be concerned about.
n2ize
03-21-2013, 11:53 AM
I remember watching a TV episode of Superman (1950's) when I was a kid where there was a massive asteroid headed right for the city of "Metropolis". The city, and possible the entire earth, was doomed but fortunately Superman jumped into the aire, flew into space, and smashed into it knocking it off course. But, by knocking it off course he pushed it in such a way where it was still out there but orbiting the earth and was still in danger of crashing into the earth, according to the actor playing an astronomer. So, they gave Superman some sort of atomic bomb and he flew it up to the asteroid and blew the crap out of it and saved the earth from certain destruction.
Now, if we can only find Superman we might be safe from asteroids and other cosmic debris.
W4GPL
03-21-2013, 12:22 PM
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/RzXuU6fccBNIqQDLHgmu8jB98jNJBYmqC3PSjTL6P66nJ-7cyzDJjBGhdPRquDeZVePZmGf0eP4=s640-h400-e365
Did we learn nothing from Atari!?!
Battlezone.
I'm going to have a fun vintage rec room one of these days. :lol:
Battlezone.
I'm going to have a fun vintage rec room one of these days. :lol:
Boy, that's a flashback.
I helped put those machines together back in the college days as a summer job. Still have a Missile Command bezel sitting around here somewhere.
Atari had a game room for employees off site that was open until 1 AM most days. They had all of their commercial machines in there you could play for free. Brand eX #1 and I used to go there all the time because that person was from Sunnyvale (home of Atari).
As long they drop on the republican headquarters 3050 Tillicum Rd, Saanich, BC, Canada...
Fixed!
WØTKX
03-22-2013, 10:57 AM
Did we learn nothing from Atari!?!
Yea. The Asteroids party is over at 99,990. Crash your last ship, just in time.
Battlezone.
I'm going to have a fun vintage rec room one of these days. :lol:
I have a version of Battlezone (called "Vector Tanks") on my phone. Bought it for 99 cents four years ago and it's still my favorite phone game.
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