Research: Asteroids pose greater danger

AP on Yahoo ^ | 1/29/08 | Sue Major Holmes - ap

[NormsRevenge]

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - An asteroid that exploded over Siberia a century ago, leaving 800 square miles of scorched or blown down trees, wasn't nearly as large as previously thought, a researcher concludes, suggesting a greater danger for Earth.

According to supercomputer simulations by Sandia National Laboratories physicist Mark Boslough, the asteroid that destroyed the forest at Tunguska in Siberia in June 1908 had a blast force equivalent to one-quarter to one-third of the 10- to 20-megaton range scientists previously estimated.

Better understanding of what happened at Tunguska will allow for better estimates of risk that would allow policymakers to decide whether to try to deflect an asteroid or evacuate people in its path, he said.

"It's not clear whether a 10-megaton asteroid is more damaging than a Hurricane Katrina," Boslough said. "We can more accurately predict the location of an impact and its time better than we can a hurricane, so you really could get people out of there if it's below a certain threshold."

On Tuesday, an asteroid at least 800 feet long was making a rare close pass by Earth, but scientists said there was no chance of an impact. The closest approach of 2007 TU24 will be 334,000 miles — about 1.4 times the distance of Earth to the moon. An actual collision of a similar-sized object with Earth occurs on average every 37,000 years.

Although the computer simulation shows the Tunguska asteroid was smaller, its physical size isn't known. That would depend on such factors as speed, shape, how dense or porous it was and what it was made of, Boslough said.

Smaller asteroids approach Earth about three times more frequently than large ones. So if large asteroids approach about every 1,000 years, a smaller one would be about every 300 years, Boslough said.

"Of course there's huge uncertainties," he said.

The three-dimensional computer simulations were done last summer. Boslough presented the findings at scientific meetings in September and December. A paper on the phenomenon, co-authored by Sandia researcher Dave Crawford, has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Impact Engineering.

The simulation, which better matches what's known of Tunguska than earlier models did, shows that the center of the asteroid's mass exploded above the ground, taking the form of a fireball blasting downward faster than the speed of sound.

But the fireball did not reach the ground, so while miles of trees outside the epicenter were flattened, those at the epicenter remained standing — scorched, with their branches stripped off.

Boslough said they were likened to telegraph poles by the first Russian expedition to Tunguska — an expedition that didn't arrive until 1927 because of the distance, primitive travel conditions and turbulent times in Russia.

If the asteroid had been as large as previously thought, "it would have had really different effects on the ground," Boslough said.

"It wouldn't have just blown over trees. There would have been a zone of completely scorched earth for several miles," he said. "That fireball would have come all the way down to the surface and everything it came in contact with would have basically just vaporized."

Alan Harris, a planetary scientist at Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo., said he's been following Boslough's work on Tunguska for several years "and I think the idea that he has there seemed very sound."

"A meteorite or asteroid coming into Earth's atmosphere has a lot of momentum," he said. "The idea that it would push down into the atmosphere seems very plausible."

"The bottom line is it takes a lot less energy, a small explosion, to create ground damage" such as that at Tunguska, said Harris, who studies the frequency of such impacts to assess hazards.

In the future, he said, he'll take Boslough's work into account and revise estimates of damage from impacts by smaller objects.

[NormsRevenge]

In this photo provided by Sandia National Laboratories, Sandia researcher Mark Boslough indicates the fine points of the 'fireball' that might be expected from an asteroid exploding in Earth's atmosphere on a supercomputer simulation during a presentation in Albuquerque, N.M. on Nov. 7, 2007. According to simulations Boslough did using Sandia supercomputers, the asteroid that destroyed the forest at Tunguska in Siberia in June 1908 had a blast force equivalent to one-quarter to one-third of the 10- to 20-megaton range scientists previously estimated — or three to five megatons. (AP Photo/Sandia National Laboratories, Randy Montoya, HO)

[mtbopfuyn]

"It's not clear whether a 10-megaton asteroid is more damaging than a Hurricane Katrina," Boslough said. "We can more accurately predict the location of an impact and its time better than we can a hurricane, so you really could get people out of there if it's below a certain threshold."

Let's see, everyone knew Katrina was coming at least a week before it hit. As landfall drew closer, day by day, and hour by hour, it was clear to everyone it where it was going to hit. Remind me again how many people ignored the warnings and did nothing.

[RayChuang88]

But even if the explosive force is 3 to 7 MT, there are still claims that the object may have exploded in the air like a thermonuclear bomb detonated at 10,000 feet to get maximum blast effect. That explains why there was so much damage over 800 square miles of land.

[SunkenCiv]

Sandia supercomputers offer new explanation of Tunguska disaster
EurekAlert | 12/18/07 | Mark Boslough
Posted on 12/18/2007 1:12:19 PM EST by crazyshrink
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1941279/posts

[SunkenCiv]

I thought we'd recently seen one like this, but it wasn't in the keyword. Welcome new members.

· join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post new topic ·

[SunkenCiv]

Evidence Of Tunguska-Type Impacts Over
The Pacific Basin Around The Year 1178 AD
SIS Conference | Emilio Spedicato
Posted on 01/26/2003 12:36:14 PM EST by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/829934/posts

[SunkenCiv]

Threat of Cometary Impacts may be Underestimated
SpaceDaily | 10/27/2004
Posted on 10/27/2004 10:54:44 AM EDT by cogitator
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1258710/posts

[cogitator]

They're out there.

Meteorite Shower in Park Forest, Illinois

The range of estimates of the original mass of the meteorite is large, 900 kg minimum, 11,000 kg maximum.