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Archive for the ‘asteroid/comet impacts’ category: Page 3

Sep 18, 2023

Armageddon-style mission to stop asteroid Bennu collision with Earth ends this week

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks, military

NASA is edging closer to the conclusion of its ambitious seven-year mission, aiming to prevent a catastrophic collision of a massive asteroid named Bennu with Earth. Recent findings have indicated that there’s a 1 in 2,700 chance of Bennu slamming into Earth on September 24, 2182.

Roughly the size of the iconic Empire State Building, Bennu spans about a third of a mile wide. The potential aftermath of its predicted collision with Earth could equate to the explosive energy of 22 atomic bombs.

The asteroid makes its presence felt by passing Earth approximately every six years. However, scientists anticipate that its most perilous close encounter could be a mere 159 years away.

Sep 12, 2023

4 Reasons Why Becoming a Type 2 Civilization Is a Bad Idea

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, energy, existential risks, military

The year one hundred two thousand twenty-three. A giant meteorite the size of Pluto is approaching the Solar System. It flies straight to Earth. But as the meteorite crosses Saturn’s orbit, a swarm of miner probes approaches it. The scan revealed no minerals on the object, so the searches returned with nothing.

Meanwhile, the Space Security Center in Alaska military personnel are setting up a laser. The Solar System witnesses a sudden flare and nothing remains of the dwarf-sized meteorite. Now, unless hydrogen miners on Jupiter post videos of another annihilation on social media… This is what the world will look like when humanity finally becomes a Type Two civilization on the Kardashev scale. We’ll have almost infinite energy reserves, the ability to prepare for interstellar flights, or to instantly destroy any threat. But will humanity really be safe? And what can ruin a Type Two civilization?

Sep 8, 2023

Asteroid behaving weirdly after NASA crash

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks

The mission was successful, and Dimorphos’ orbit was shortened by 33 minutes in the weeks after the impact.

However, a team of high school students led by teacher Jonathan Swift at Thacher School in California have discovered that Dimorphos’ orbit continued to shrink by another minute more than a month after the collision.

‘The number we got was slightly larger, a change of 34 minutes,’ said Mr Swift. ‘That was inconsistent at an uncomfortable level.’

Sep 5, 2023

Asteroid the size of 81 bulldogs to pass Earth on Wednesday

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks

Asteroid 2021 JA5 is around the size of 81 bulldogs, the symbol of the college football team of the University of Georgia. But it won’t hit us – hopefully the Bulldog team will have better luck.

Jul 31, 2023

New algorithm ensnares its first ‘potentially hazardous’ asteroid

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks, information science

An asteroid discovery algorithm—designed to uncover near-Earth asteroids for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s upcoming 10-year survey of the night sky—has identified its first “potentially hazardous” asteroid, a term for space rocks in Earth’s vicinity that scientists like to keep an eye on.

The roughly 600-foot-long asteroid, designated 2022 SF289, was discovered during a test drive of the algorithm with the ATLAS survey in Hawaii. Finding 2022 SF289, which poses no risk to Earth for the foreseeable future, confirms that the next-generation algorithm, known as HelioLinc3D, can identify near-Earth asteroids with fewer and more dispersed observations than required by today’s methods.

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Jul 26, 2023

Meteor which exploded over The Atlantic had force comparable to Hiroshima bomb

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks, military

A meteor has exploded over the Atlantic Ocean with the force of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It’s one of the ways that civilisation as we know it could end, with an asteroid impact sending the human race the way of the dinosaurs. It’s a terrifying prospect, and the film Don’t Look Up with Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio really didn’t help matter with its demonstration of the paralysis and greed which could doom humanity.

Jul 24, 2023

Americans prioritize safety over space travel, survey shows

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks

Most Americans favor NASA’s focus on deflecting asteroids to protect Earth rather than pursuing lunar and Martian exploration.

In a galaxy not so far away, most Americans are casting their eyes on the skies, but not necessarily on the Moon or Mars. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center has unveiled that most Americans are more concerned about the threat of potential asteroid impacts on Earth, urging NASA to deflect these space intruders rather than diverting its resources to lunar and Martian exploration.

The survey, conducted among over 10,000 individuals, offers an insightful glimpse into the public’s views on space exploration, NASA’s role, private space companies, and the United States’ position as a leader in space.

Jun 10, 2023

Europe’s most dangerous ‘supervolcano’ could be creeping toward eruption, scientists warn

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks

Italy’s Campi Flegrei is showing some troubling early warning signs, but scientists caution that its eruption is far from certain.

May 30, 2023

We Are (Probably) Safe From Asteroids For 1,000 Years, Say Scientists

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks

When will an asteroid hit Earth and wipe us out? Not for at least 1,000 years, according to a team of astronomers. Probably.

Either way, you should get to know an asteroid called 7482 (1994 PC1), the only one known whose orbital path will cross that of Earth’s consistently for the next millennium—and thus has the largest probability of a “deep close encounter” with us, specifically in 502 years. Possibly.

Published on a preprint archive and accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal, the paper states that astronomers have almost found all the kilometer-sized asteroids. There’s a little under 1,000 of them.

Apr 30, 2023

The ‘Don’t Look Up’ Thinking That Could Doom Us With AI

Posted by in categories: asteroid/comet impacts, existential risks, robotics/AI

Suppose a large inbound asteroid were discovered, and we learned that half of all astronomers gave it at least 10% chance of causing human extinction, just as a similar asteroid exterminated the dinosaurs about 66 million years ago. Since we have such a long history of thinking about this threat and what to do about it, from scientific conferences to Hollywood blockbusters, you might expect humanity to shift into high gear with a deflection mission to steer it in a safer direction.

Sadly, I now feel that we’re living the movie Don’t look up for another existential threat: unaligned superintelligence. We may soon have to share our planet with more intelligent “minds” that care less about us than we cared about mammoths. A recent survey showed that half of AI researchers give AI at least 10% chance of causing human extinction. Since we have such a long history of thinking about this threat and what to do about it, from scientific conferences to Hollywood blockbusters, you might expect that humanity would shift into high gear with a mission to steer AI in a safer direction than out-of-control superintelligence. Think again: instead, the most influential responses have been a combination of denial, mockery, and resignation so darkly comical that it’s deserving of an Oscar.

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