Far out cosmology: not prepared to stop an asteroid (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, November 05, 2022, 17:11 (747 days ago) @ David Turell

Further studies:

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/earth-threatening-asteroid/?utm_source=mailchim...

"A ~kilometer-sized or greater object could wipe out every human on Earth.

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"Three new major discoveries reveal how fundamentally unprepared we truly are

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"These new near-Earth asteroids were all found in an uncommon place: between the orbits of Earth and Venus.

"Another, at 1.5 kilometers across, is the largest Earth-hazardous asteroid discovered in eight years.

"If a collision occurs, an extinction-level event is anticipated.

"Hazardous object surveys primarily focus on the asteroid belt: where most such objects are located.

"However, those don’t include the four major Earth-threatening classes:

Amors
Earth-approaching NEAs with orbits
exterior to Earth's but interior to Mars'
(named after asteroid (1221) Amor)

a > 1.0 AU
1.017 AU < q < 1.3 AU
a > 1.0 AU

Apollos
Earth-crossing NEAs with semi-major
axes larger than Earth's
(named after asteroid (1862) Apollo)

9 < 1.017 AU
a < 1.0 AU
2 > 0.983 AU

Atens
Earth-crossing NEAs with semi-major
axes smaller than Earth's
(named after asteroid (2062) Aten)

Atiras
NEAs whose orbits are contained
entirely within the orbit of the Earth
(named after asteroid (163693) Atira)

a < 1.0 AU
Q < 0.983 AU
= perihelion distance, Q = aphelion distance, a = semi-major axis

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"Most such hazards remain unidentified, necessitating space-based missions, like NEO Surveyor."

Comment: See the article for diagrams and further explanations. I downloaded one text just above. If our God is a deist, we are on our own. If He is a theist He will help.