Russia Considers Rocket to Deflect Asteroid Apophis 2029

I was just reading some articles about Billy Meier (yeah I know (hoax you might say) when I saw this and it reminded of this thread.
This was originally published in 1982.

Danger of Collision with the Red Meteor!

reply to post by DutchBigBoy


But did they take into account any other significant disturbances that would alter trajectory and speed?
I have a feeling that they are scrambling for answers. The answer may not lie with stopping but merely guiding something past.

Of course they have already thought of that

reply to post by DutchBigBoy


In light of the recent russian meteor impact and the multiple meteors, close

asteroid flybys, and even the current comet PAN-STARRS (overhead

in the AZ sky while on vacation here...) this stuff has taken on new relevancy.

Love the Billy Meier tangent - hmmmm.....

"475th contact between Ptaah and Billy

(Excerpt from page 3486 of the original notes; see original *German text below)

Billy: Regarding the Red Meteor that endangers Earth on the 13th of April, 2029 and of which we have already spoken on the 16th of September, I have been asked about certain things and, therefore, would like to know how big that bloke is.

To my knowledge the terrestrial astronomers have already detected it for quite some time and are calling it Aprophis or something.

It shall either hit Earth in the year 2029, or only whiz past by very closely.

If the second version should occur, it (the meteor) would dangerously reappear in the year 2036, and its close approach to Earth could really lead to a catastrophe if the scientists undertake nothing against it or if there is no change in the meteor's trajector..."

Originally posted by sos37
I never understood - why not just detonate a few high powered explosives or nukes beside the asteroid and use the explosion's shock wave to alter the asteroid's course? Once you push something in a certain direction in a zero vacuum it keeps going that direction.

because expoding a nuke in space creates no explosion, no shockwave... cause there is no atmosphere

This Russian declaration from three years ago was surely just a piece of competitive boasting (we can do it by ourselves, but we will allow the Americans to help)?
Any evidence that they ever followed up their words with actions?

reply to post by drphilxr


They have NO WAY of knowing exactly how much force to use to divert it. I am guessing they want to use nukes......that will make many smaller asteroids that will still be deadly for earth.

I dont know much about the subject but I do know that they have no idea about its exact mass and composition. I also know that smashing something makes many little somethings.

reply to post by hisshadow


REALLY?

EDIT:
I found this. I thought it was helpful for anyone interested.

If a nuclear weapon is exploded in a vacuum-i. e., in space-the complexion of weapon effects changes drastically:

First, in the absence of an atmosphere, blast disappears completely.

Second, thermal radiation, as usually defined, also disappears. There is no longer any air for the blast wave to heat and much higher frequency radiation is emitted from the weapon itself.

history.nasa.gov...

reply to post by hisshadow


I think another reason for not bombing asteroids is that they can break up. We don't really understand the composition of asteroids very well and there is so much variation that predicting how an asteroid will react to an explosion is mostly impossible. At this time attempting to bomb an asteroid is probably something that should only be done if a collision is imminent and we have no other options.

We might be better served by visiting Apophis to study it in detail so that we can better understand our options for dealing with it in the future, keeping in mind that the large variation in Asteroid composition makes each a largely unique challenge

reply to post by DISRAELI


I should look into whether or not any follow up stories have been done - we

are at the mercy of the media, who have a 15 minute memory.

The fact that our congress has brought up funding asteroid hunting again is eery, particularly

after the Siberian meteorite blast and the multiple meteors seen in the following days all over

the world.

I'm also thinking of the odd comment that Dr. Von Braun told Dr. Carol Rosin - which

is hearsay - but falls nicely into the lap of conspiracy (which we all love).

In fact it links up with the possibility of a hidden 5th column

of german secret science (ie., a fourth reich) inside our own space program. Yes.

This Na zi tangentwith asteroids may be the nuttiest of all....

But all this aside - the idea of deflecting asteroids is cool. First we need to detect them.

Does it scare anyone that the russian meteor was undetected? That's life on earth I guess.