OT: Could a nuclear blast save us from killer asteroid?

[Judith Latham]

It’s been almost 25 years since Bruce Willis, playing the fictional
character Harry Stamper in the blockbuster movie, Armageddon, saved
Earth from an asteroid careering towards the planet. In true Hollywood
fashion, he did this by detonating a nuclear bomb implanted in the
asteroid, preventing what scientists call a “mass extinction event”.
The whole world cheered (at least in the movie).

The world might be able to cheer for real now. In a study published in
Nature Physics, physicists at Sandia National Laboratories in New
Mexico, US, say they have simulated a nuclear X-ray pulse directed
onto the side of an asteroid to change the trajectory of the asteroid
and avoid a collision with the Earth.

<continue reading>

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/4/was-bruce-willis-right-could-a-nuclear-blast-save-us-from-killer-asteroid



Judith

[Hank Rogers]

Post by Judith Latham
It’s been almost 25 years since Bruce Willis, playing the fictional
character Harry Stamper in the blockbuster movie, Armageddon, saved
Earth from an asteroid careering towards the planet. In true Hollywood
fashion, he did this by detonating a nuclear bomb implanted in the
asteroid, preventing what scientists call a “mass extinction event”.
The whole world cheered (at least in the movie).
The world might be able to cheer for real now. In a study published in
Nature Physics, physicists at Sandia National Laboratories in New
Mexico, US, say they have simulated a nuclear X-ray pulse directed
onto the side of an asteroid to change the trajectory of the asteroid
and avoid a collision with the Earth.

I sure hope it doesn't disrupt the israeli and arab wars being conducted
now. Killing each other is a very important cultural tradition.

http://vimeo.com/50531435

[N_Cook]

It’s been almost 25 years since Bruce Willis, playing the fictional
character Harry Stamper in the blockbuster movie, Armageddon, saved
Earth from an asteroid careering towards the planet. In true Hollywood
fashion, he did this by detonating a nuclear bomb implanted in the
asteroid, preventing what scientists call a “mass extinction event”.
The whole world cheered (at least in the movie).
The world might be able to cheer for real now. In a study published in
Nature Physics, physicists at Sandia National Laboratories in New
Mexico, US, say they have simulated a nuclear X-ray pulse directed
onto the side of an asteroid to change the trajectory of the asteroid
and avoid a collision with the Earth.
<continue reading>
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/4/was-bruce-willis-right-could-a-nuclear-blast-save-us-from-killer-asteroid
Judith

The last NASA pronouncement I saw on asteroid Apophis , "the size of a
battleship" had it supposedly close approach "within the geostationary
satellite belt" on a Friday 13th 5 years time, fingers crossed.
Anything Bruce Willis did would gaurantee the asteroid hit the Earth

[Jamaal Bowman]

It’s been almost 25 years since Bruce Willis, playing the fictional
character Harry Stamper in the blockbuster movie, Armageddon, saved
Earth from an asteroid careering towards the planet. In true Hollywood
fashion, he did this by detonating a nuclear bomb implanted in the
asteroid, preventing what scientists call a “mass extinction event”.
The whole world cheered (at least in the movie).
The world might be able to cheer for real now. In a study published in
Nature Physics, physicists at Sandia National Laboratories in New
Mexico, US, say they have simulated a nuclear X-ray pulse directed
onto the side of an asteroid to change the trajectory of the asteroid
and avoid a collision with the Earth.
<continue reading>
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/4/was-bruce-willis-right-could-a-nuclear-blast-save-us-from-killer-asteroid
Judith

Yes but the massive release of energy would accelerate climate change.

[kazu]

It’s been almost 25 years since Bruce Willis, playing the fictional
character Harry Stamper in the blockbuster movie, Armageddon, saved
Earth from an asteroid careering towards the planet. In true Hollywood
fashion, he did this by detonating a nuclear bomb implanted in the
asteroid, preventing what scientists call a “mass extinction event”.
The whole world cheered (at least in the movie).
The world might be able to cheer for real now. In a study published in
Nature Physics, physicists at Sandia National Laboratories in New
Mexico, US, say they have simulated a nuclear X-ray pulse directed
onto the side of an asteroid to change the trajectory of the asteroid
and avoid a collision with the Earth.
<continue reading>
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/4/was-bruce-willis-right-could-a-nuclear-blast-save-us-from-killer-asteroid
Judith

yeah very likely, the physics checks out, momentum is conserved.