SCI/TECH: Asteroid Impact Turned Earth Inside Out

With all of the recent hoaxes claiming that Earth is under the threat of imminent doom from a series of impacts from space, it might be good to see this recent news from the world of real science. The results of scientific research recently concluded that 1.8 billion years ago Earth was hit by an asteroid the size of a large mountain. Estimated to be 6 miles (10 kilometers) wide and traveling at 89,000 mph (40 kilometers per second) it impacted Earth and punched a hole right through the 22 mile (35 kilometer) thick crust....


Think about what would happen if world governments did know that now a rock this size was headed for us.

Would we need to know? would we even want to know?

The reality is it could happen but it is much more likely that each and every one of us will win the next mega lottery all at the same time.

Fear of the unknown can open the mind to the hoaxers and those who would seek to exploit your fears for their own pleasures. The next best chance for a real impact from space on earth will be on a much smaller scale and we have a lot of time to prevent it. They claim a rock from space could impact earth in 2880. So we have a lot of time to prepare and say our last prayers.

[edit on 7-6-2004 by Zion Mainframe]

Ooof!! That's a pretty big lump of rock!

That got me wondering.... Would an asteroid as large as that have any effect on the earth's orbit? or could a near miss with a REALLY big asteroid have enough gravitational effect to tip the earth off axis or out of it's presumably circular orbit? How far off orbit would we have to go do really feel the difference?

oh my..questions, questions!!

That's really cool. I'm from Ontario, and Sudbury is a major mining centre. The Creighton nickel-copper mine in Sudbury, Ontario, is the deepest mine in Canada, reaching a depth of about 7200 feet (2.2 km).

Originally posted by muppet

That got me wondering.... Would an asteroid as large as that have any effect on the earth's orbit? or could a near miss with a REALLY big asteroid have enough gravitational effect to tip the earth off axis or out of it's presumably circular orbit? How far off orbit would we have to go do really feel the difference?

muppet, the fact that Earth has been impacted may have caused wobble we have that gives us our seasons. However over the billions of years this planet has been here and in the same orbit should show that it would take a planet sized impact to move any of Earth's mass out of orbit.

Now on the following page link you will find some really interesting answers to your questions as well.

Check this out:
www.uwgb.edu...

Gazz

[edit on 7-6-2004 by UM_Gazz]

Interesting, if a mountain-sized meteor was to punch through the crust, I presume that would cause less devastation than if it didn't as a lot of the shock waves would travel down rather than over the planet??

Originally posted by UM_Gazz
Now on the following page link you will find some really interesting answers to your quesions as well.
Check this out:
www.uwgb.edu...
Gazz

thanks Gazz.. great article. (physics was one of my dunce subjects at school so it's good to have it spelled out in muppet language for me )

So following on from the conservation of momemtum principle.. Am I right in thinking that has something to do with the fact we only ever see one side of the moon?

If it was formed at some time in the past by a chunk of the earth breaking off, and then re-forming over billions of years out of all the dust and debris, then it wouldn't rotate since there would have been no forces to start it spinning in the first place? Whereas if it were a "captured" space object, it would have maintained any spinning it already exhibited?

cool stuff..

Originally posted by muppet

Am I right in thinking that has something to do with the fact we only ever see one side of the moon?

If it was formed at some time in the past by a chunk of the earth breaking off, and then re-forming over billions of years out of all the dust and debris, then it wouldn't rotate since there would have been no forces to start it spinning in the first place? Whereas if it were a "captured" space object, it would have maintained any spinning it already exhibited?

muppet, Actually no one has really proven that the moon was created by a massive planet sized impact beyond a doubt, but it is likely the most in my view. The moon does rotate. but it's distance from Earth and it's rotation are such that we only ever see one side. Also some experts think that the moon is nothing more than a roaming small planetoid that was captured by Earth's gravity.

You can find some great stuff and answers on the following pages:

www.pbs.org...

www.badastronomy.com...

Gazz

[edit on 7-6-2004 by UM_Gazz]

Minor correction.....

Originally posted by UM_Gazz
muppet, the fact that Earth has been impacted may have caused wobble we have that gives us our seasons.

The Earth does wobble, but our seasons come from two factors:

(1) The Earth is tilted slightly so that when it orbits the sun, part of it's yearly orbit is spent with the northern hemisphere more directly facing the sun (northern Summer) and the other part of it's orbit with the southern hemisphere more directly facing the sun (northern Winter).

(2) The Eath's orbit around the sun is elliptical.

Reference

As for Earth's wobble, oceanic movement and tidal forces are currently suspected. NASA Article

[edit on 7-6-2004 by Outland]