Unexpected Asteroid Strike Could Start A Nuclear War

if a small unknown asteroid approached us without warning from the same direction as the sun, we would be unaware of its arrival until it was too late and if it were to suddenly and unexpectedly impact upon a country that already has nuclear weapons, they might automatically assume that it was a nuclear missile launched at them from an unfriendly nation. especially if it were to arrive from the same direction as the other country. with just about the whole world already in a war state of mind, a war mentality, just waiting and expecting some other countries military to do something terrible. our fingers are on the trigger all the time. take for instance, india and pakistan. if a small asteroid were to come flying in at super sonic speed, from the same direction as india and slam into pakistan, that asteroid strike would almost certainly resemble a nuclear explosion and their initial reaction could very well be that, we were just struck by a nuclear missile launched at us from india. instant anger and outrage would quickly overwhelm any common sense or proper analysis of the situation and a counter strike against the perceived enemy attack would usher in a thermonuclear war. any moment of any day a country could be hit by one of these millions of wandering rogue objects drifting throughout our solar system and some of them already have, target earth, written on them...

I think while its a possibly with the nervous demeer of the nuclear powers, its unlikly.

However a asteroid hit would look nothing like a big nuke going off, they're may be a bright explosion, but it couldnt get anywhere near as bright as a nuke flash, esp from a really big one (look up the russian Tsar Bomb explosion)

the odds of that are as great as the odds of anything else happening

for example

Asteroid strikes right on top of g8 meeting and brings world peace. the humans surrender finally.

we can all speculate, but why is it most times it has to be about doom and gloom?

deny yourself the ignorance of fearing something you do not know, for in reality you know nothing.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

An asteroid will not stay directly between the sun and the earth for that long so as to not be discovered.
A terrorist attack is a likelier option.
Cheers

Originally posted by AnotherYOU
the odds of that are as great as the odds of anything else happening

for example

Asteroid strikes right on top of g8 meeting and brings world peace. the humans surrender finally.

we can all speculate, but why is it most times it has to be about doom and gloom?

deny yourself the ignorance of fearing something you do not know, for in reality you know nothing.

 

Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

 

the reality is that it "could" happen any day and the odds are better then say, me hitting the multi million lottery, so the odds for different things happening are not at all the same...

Im pretty sure the detection systems would be able to tell if it was a launch or an object from space.

I'd say that scenario is pretty unlikely nowadays, maybe more probable during the cold war, but even then I'm confidant logic would've trumped hysteria. Countries wishing to initiate a nuclear first strike don't send a single missile, and the odds of a single rogue asteroid hitting any place of strategic importance are pretty slim.

Even a country's hardliners would be hard pressed to conclude that their dastardly enemies thought firing a single nuke at a farm in the middle of nowhere was a good idea.

I remember seeing something similar to what you propose, in the documentary countdown
to zero. I think a meteor was mistaken for an ICBM and caused a near catastrophic launch
of u.s warheads.

this is an exact quote >>> "if asteroids approach the earth from directions around the sun, THEY CANNOT BE DETECTED BY ANY GROUND BASED OBSERVATIONS" ! ,as this link clearly states . www.springerlink.com...

Originally posted by aching_knuckles
Im pretty sure the detection systems would be able to tell if it was a launch or an object from space.

not if it suddenly struck without warning and came from the direction around the sun,which would then be impossible to detect until it already hit

I think it would be a pretty unlikely situation as the countries with nukes are spread out across the surface of the globe(Russia, China, UK, France, USA, etc....).

It would take a complete idiot to order a retaliatory strike without knowing which country fired the initial nuke.

Originally posted by Boreas
I'd say that scenario is pretty unlikely nowadays, maybe more probable during the cold war, but even then I'm confidant logic would've trumped hysteria. Countries wishing to initiate a nuclear first strike don't send a single missile, and the odds of a single rogue asteroid hitting any place of strategic importance are pretty slim.

Even a country's hardliners would be hard pressed to conclude that their dastardly enemies thought firing a single nuke at a farm in the middle of nowhere was a good idea.

a 50 ft wide asteroid would destroy the better part of a whole city and theres hundreds of thousands or even millions of asteroids that size drifting all around the solar system and unfortunately we are sitting ducks...

Interesting post, IMHO not about the chances of it happening or the chances of the affected country giving a damn where it came from but an observation about how trigger ready the world is.
Humanity is on a knife edge, with instant global communication and the speed at how a reaction can take place the point of the thread (IMHO) is that people will react because their population will expect an instant and decisive reaction to any threat.
A serious meteorite impact on any part of the Earth will affect us all but should it hit a country with nuclear capability the consequences would be catastrophic, I believe when it comes the weapons of man will be unleashed with terrifying speed. To the detriment of us all.
Imagine what would be unleashed if Tel Aviv were obliterated by an unknown impact from the sky, or Washington, or Tehran, or Dehli?
Humans Eh! we have our own destruction in our own hands. Comforting thought.

Originally posted by HumansEh
Interesting post, IMHO not about the chances of it happening or the chances of the affected country giving a damn where it came from but an observation about how trigger ready the world is.
Humanity is on a knife edge, with instant global communication and the speed at how a reaction can take place the point of the thread (IMHO) is that people will react because their population will expect an instant and decisive reaction to any threat.
A serious meteorite impact on any part of the Earth will affect us all but should it hit a country with nuclear capability the consequences would be catastrophic, I believe when it comes the weapons of man will be unleashed with terrifying speed. To the detriment of us all.
Imagine what would be unleashed if Tel Aviv were obliterated by an unknown impact from the sky, or Washington, or Tehran, or Dehli?
Humans Eh! we have our own destruction in our own hands. Comforting thought.

"imagine what would be unleashed if tel aviv were obliterated by an unknown impact from the sky"

I really wouldn’t go that far.

A single bird flock could trigger the radar and early warning system like it happened before!

Check the source please.


nuclearfiles.org...


Nice post btw.

Originally posted by amkia
I really wouldn’t go that far.

A single bird flock could trigger the radar and early warning system like it happened before!

Check the source please.


nuclearfiles.org...


Nice post btw.

false alarms caused by rising moons,broken pipe lines and flocks of birds would'nt hold a flame when compared to what might happen if a city was slammed by even a small asteroid..

Originally posted by Biigs
I think while its a possibly with the nervous demeer of the nuclear powers, its unlikly.

However a asteroid hit would look nothing like a big nuke going off, they're may be a bright explosion, but it couldnt get anywhere near as bright as a nuke flash, esp from a really big one (look up the russian Tsar Bomb explosion)

edit on 3-9-2011 by Biigs because: (no reason given)

sorry but thats not true,an asteroid hit would look a lot like a nuke going off >>>www.youtube.com... and this >>> boards.straightdope.com...

Originally posted by blocula

Originally posted by Biigs
I think while its a possibly with the nervous demeer of the nuclear powers, its unlikly.

However a asteroid hit would look nothing like a big nuke going off, they're may be a bright explosion, but it couldnt get anywhere near as bright as a nuke flash, esp from a really big one (look up the russian Tsar Bomb explosion)

edit on 3-9-2011 by Biigs because: (no reason given)

sorry but thats not true,an asteroid hit would look a lot like a nuke going off >>>www.youtube.com... and this >>> boards.straightdope.com...

edit on 3-9-2011 by blocula because: (no reason given)

Some guys theroised it would be similar? thats not even close to proof.

A rock hitting some dirt at whatever velocity wont look like a nuclear detonation at all.

nukes have a small impant zone, always vertial from the blast, MASSIVE white out flash for 30 seconds or more, a asteropid hit would loo klike a volcano going off sideways, (or whatever angle it hit, straight down, STILL wouildnt look lik ea nuke, plus people would see it unlike a tiny missile.

most asteroids end up being air bursts anyways, just the same as what happened over tunguska in 1908 and the same way we blew up the a-bombs over hiroshima and nagaski as air bursts for maximum effect...

I can agree that an asteroid could start a world war, but I disagree with the manner in which you describe it as occurring. This is not a criticism of your thread or premise, but just of how you see things going down that lead to war.

First, is the fact that if any object of the size necessary to evaporate a city like a nuclear blast, would not leave the same tell tale signature clues such as radioactivity that specifically will be tested for plutonium or uranium to determine its origin, I mention this because I just don't feel that just because a city explodes and the government does not know why, that they will want to launch on their neighbor in retaliation.

Second, is the fact than any nation knows that before the use of nuclear weapons in retaliation of self defense, you have to have proof for the world court to prove you had the justification to strike before being annihilated.

While smaller nation states do have their limitations on protocols and procedures, I do agree that a "Cowboy" of sorts could seek or want to release a nuclear device just to be able to. You know, just for diabolical laughing reasons.

While these differences in our approach to WWIII are different, the reason I stated I agree that it would lead to war is because during such a calamity or disaster event is the perfect time to invade your neighbor if you had such plans on the shelf all along.

Taking advantage of military strategic opportunities are looked upon differently in the military services and as such, I have no doubt that someone, even the big super powers will take advantage of a really big disaster to offer support services for relief purposes.

Those areas that are most strategic to the super powers, it can be reasoned they will under the cover of helping and providing support that they will take advantage of key locations and then when other nation states wake up is when those expansionist imperialistic gestures will be met with threats of conventional war and ultimately nuclear war.

Depending on how wide spread the disaster encompasses will determine the areas that would most likely become new areas for battles over specific territory or geographic locations. At the point of nuclear exchanges is when the game comes to an end and new game begins.

While world war with nuclear exchanges is another tread, you are right to state that it would lead to war. Anyway, that is all I wanted to discuss.

Thanks for the thread.