Nevenall Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Mystery Object to Whizz by Earth Wednesday What could this object be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristopher Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! 33 to 50 feet isn't big enough to cause any damage? If it's an iron asteroid, it would be more than big enough, wouldn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSgt Baloo Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! 33 to 50 feet isn't big enough to cause any damage? If it's an iron asteroid, it would be more than big enough, wouldn't it? I suspect that they're talking about catastrophic damage to the Earth and its environments. I suspect that any object that size (smaller but certainly more massive than an F-4 fighter plane) would be pretty catastrophic if you were standing at the point of impact. A mile or so away? Not so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! 33 to 50 feet isn't big enough to cause any damage? If it's an iron asteroid, it would be more than big enough, wouldn't it? You can play around with: Impact Effects to see what happens. Though it looks like the asteroid needs to be a bit bigger before causing problems other than right where it hit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristopher Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! Here's what came of it: http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/impacteffects/cgi-bin/crater.cgi?dist=.1&distanceUnits=1&diam=50&diameterUnits=3&pdens=&pdens_select=8000&vel=20&velocityUnits=1&theta=45&wdepth=&wdepthUnits=1&tdens=2500 Your Inputs: Distance from Impact: 0.10 km = 0.06 miles Projectile Diameter: 15.24 m = 49.99 ft = 0.01 miles Projectile Density: 8000 kg/m3 Impact Velocity: 20.00 km/s = 12.42 miles/s Impact Angle: 45 degrees Target Density: 2500 kg/m3 Target Type: Sedimentary Rock Energy: Energy before atmospheric entry: 2.97 x 1015 Joules = 708.39 KiloTons TNT The average interval between impacts of this size somewhere on Earth is 84.4 years Atmospheric Entry: The projectile begins to breakup at an altitude of 16500 meters = 54200 ft The projectile bursts into a cloud of fragments at an altitude of 6870 meters = 22500 ft The residual velocity of the projectile fragments after the burst is 8.83 km/s = 5.48 miles/s The energy of the airburst is 2.39 x 1015 Joules = 0.57 x 100 MegaTons. Large fragments strike the surface and may create a crater strewn field. A more careful treatment of atmospheric entry is required to accurately estimate the size-frequency distribution of meteoroid fragments and predict the number and size of craters formed. Major Global Changes: The Earth is not strongly disturbed by the impact and loses negligible mass. The impact does not make a noticeable change in the Earth's rotation period or the tilt of its axis. The impact does not shift the Earth's orbit noticeably. Air Blast: The air blast at this location would not be noticed. (The overpressure is less than 1 Pa) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristopher Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! So they're saying 57 megaton airburst at 22500 ft? Well, it would be a spectacular site to see, at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! Mystery Object to Whizz by Earth Wednesday What could this object be? The source of all our superpowers. Duh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! Oo oo! Dibs on unhurtability! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! I believe that's Old Man's left over escape Rocket Booster, from when he was launched here, a long time ago, from a place far away. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nevenall Posted January 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! The source of all our superpowers. Duh. Telepathy for me, Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! I'll take probability Control. Then, a Ticket to Vegas. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! I believe that's Old Man's left over escape Rocket Booster, from when he was launched here, a long time ago, from a place far away. ~Rex Silly boy. Rockets weren't invented then! Also, telekinesis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! E.E. Doc Smith said there were Rockets then, I think that counts, as Old beyond Old there Old Man. *nods sagely* ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! And I heard it here first! Lucius Alexander Contacting the palindromedary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nevenall Posted January 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! I think Twinkies are really alien eggs and this object has come to pollinate them. Won't the aliens be angry when they find out how many we ate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panpiper Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! I want the power to save and reload my life like a computer game, with several slots already retroactively saved earlier in my life. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristopher Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! Huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! Huh? Chronomanipulation with Resurrection. You regen back to life, but at an earlier save point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panpiper Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! Huh? Well, this could be the extraterrestrial object that gives some of us superpowers. Right?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! I think Twinkies are really alien eggs and this object has come to pollinate them. Won't the aliens be angry when they find out how many we ate? I can't wait to have my own pet alien that lays Twinkies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeropoint Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! I can't wait to have my own pet alien that lays Twinkies! I THOUGHT Twinkies tasted like crap . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RexMundi Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! WHAT?! How dare you insult the Awesome Creme Filled yellow Goodness you ALIEN SPY!!!!! Only an Alien would say that about Twinkies. ~Rex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! Funny, the NBC report I saw identified this as an asteroid. But we'll know for certain soon enough. PS: If I get a choice, I'll take either telekinesis or teleportation. Ideally, both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peregrine Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! 15 points of Wealth, please. And a 60 PRE, 60 INT and 60 EGO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted January 13, 2010 Report Share Posted January 13, 2010 Re: First Contact Could Be Tomorrow! Looks like it's 2010 AL30. Interesting that that orbit it shows crosses Venus's orbit too. One leg of the Inner Solar System Shuttle Bus Route? That's a really poorly-determined orbit, though. If it's an iron, that size of object is about the same as the impactor that made Meteor Crater in Arizona. You don't want to be right under it when it hits, but as such things go it's modest impact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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