Posted on 12/23/2004 9:20:12 AM PST by Diamond
Well one thing for certain - pieces of the comet will gain a new trajectory/orbit.
So - lets see if we hit a comet with a celestial hammer if we can knock it off course - maybe we can get it or some of the pieces to swerve into an earth orbit! Great idea!
> maybe we can get it or some of the pieces to swerve into an earth orbit!
Not with a measly 800 pound kinetic impactor, you won't.
Dude. Someone should, like, make a movie about that or something. With, like, oil drillers or something. And a hot chick. Yah.
BTTT
Each piece capable to being a Mega City killer.
yeah smart NASA, really smart I say!!
This is great; Let's SEE WHAT HAPPENS if we hit a 4 mile wide comet with a big bomb!
CLOSE ENOUGH FOR US TO SEE. This seems like a self fulfilling prophecy of Hollywood!
This sounds like the opening of a REALLY bad movie...
. . .but how can we blow apart a comet without a pair of special, armored shuttles, Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, and a lovable crew of red-shirted Oil-rig workers ??
Not to mention without Aerosmith doing a theme song for the mission ????
. . .and in the meantime, a Merry Christmas to all. .
The collision may be visible to the eye from earth.
Not so sure this is a good idea, But who is there to stop them? 330 million dollars sems like a lot of money to waste tapping Comets.
Hey, it's only government money - there's an unlimited stream of it and no one has to pay it back! Merry Christmas!
Hmm. . .
Well. . . at least it's exploratory science. Research ALWAYS ends up paying off, in the long run. After all, what would you rather spend it on: Engineers, hardware, and technology. . .or more self-esteem workshops for unwed teenage mothers ???
BTW, you TOTALLY missed the gratuitous cheesy movie reference. . .
I buy generic groceries to save $8 so Uncle Sam can throw it at stuff like this.
That, and I also avoid driving my SUV anywhere if at all possible to save gasoline to fuel the rockets.
Now lemmesee. The Tower of Babel was one of man's early bad scientific efforts. The latest worst one may just be the Hammer of NASA. Sometimes I feel like just a little bug at the mercy of the great scientific minds of this world. . you know, the ones who FORGET to comb their hair or put on socks in freezing weather or who want to bust up one big rock into a million unpredictable pieces. Common sense anyone?
How fast will that measly 800 pound kinetic impactor be travelling when it hits the comet? The article doesn't say, but does state, "According to a senior official associated with the project, the impact, they hope, will put an end to all the speculation about the interiors of comets." That reference to the interior of the comet leads me to believe that it's planned to be a big enough collision to break apart at least parts of the comet. I would be very surprised to learn that they have calculated the trajectories of the pieces that break off.
Cordially,
That's very comforting. At least I may be able to see my tax dollars at work if it's a clear night.
Cordially,
> yeah smart NASA, really smart I say!!
Yeah, they are. They are smart enough to know that the change in velocity for a chunk of ice 1000 feet across when hit by a flyspeck of 800 pounds is NOT enough to divert it noticably.
Sheesh, you sound like one of those hysterical Greenpeacers who protested Cassini because it had an RTG on it. Do the math... this thing is harmless to us.
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