Please don't let Hawaii CD handle this...

[rocketman]

NASA and FEMA Will Simulate an Impending Asteroid Strike Next Week

https://gizmodo.com/nasa-and-fema-will-s...1834308695

Hawaii content, look at impact track.

[SBH]

Please don't let Hawaii CD handle this...

It’s OK, Hawaii CD is best qualified to handle fictional disasters.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

I expect at minimum, a klaxon-like warning tone from my cell phone, and a message:

“ASTEROID THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”

[ElysianWort]

Say goodnight Irene. Not much prep for this.

The classic Pink Floyd song is so beautiful here paired with the asteroid impact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU1QPtOZQZU

[PaulW]

They take action if there’s 1% chance of a hit? Good to know, but what action?
If it ever happens, maybe scientists will get the appreciation they deserve. Or probably not.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

If it ever happens, maybe scientists will get the appreciation they deserve.

If an asteroid was headed directly for Mauna Kea with the potential impact of 1 million Hiroshima A-bombs, and scientists diverted it, one group would complain it didn’t get rid of the observatories (and everything else) and another group would be against diversion of additional sacred rock.

"God has cared for these trees, but he cannot protect them from fools." - John Muir, 1897, arguing for the protection of our forests

[TomK]

rocketman - there is, of course, more Hawaii-related content to this, there are telescopes in Hawaii that are directly involved in looking for Earth-threatening asteroids and are involved in these exercises.

Paul - there is stuff we can do as long as we have enough notice (several years) and there's the willingness to do so. The whole point of current efforts to find these asteroids is to discover them several years before they potentially strike the planet. Finding that asteroid is the first step, figuring out what to do about it is the second and that involves learning exactly what it is. If it's a loose conglomeration of rubble the best choice may be to blow it up. If it's denser or more compact then better options might be attempting to change its orbit.

Given enough warning, there are viable techniques that can be used including exploding warheads nearby, crashing things into the asteroid to deflect it or, bizarrely enough, painting one side of it. The latter is an interesting idea which doesn't literally mean sending a paint sprayer out there. but if you can change the albedo on one side the sun can take care of the rest. Given enough warning time, you only need to make a tiny deflection to the orbit in order for it to miss the Earth. The painting idea is still a little beyond us, but deflecting the asteroid in other ways is definitely within our technological ability right now. Remember, we now have the ability to land probes on comets and asteroids.

PS. Having said that, I agree completely that Hawaii CD and even the state and county government should not get involved. Please just leave it to those who know what they are doing.

[TomK]

PS. Just to reassure everyone, I have told our staff not to press the emergency asteroid alert button which is unfortunately next to the "alien invasion" button (the launch counter measures button is hidden, so don't worry, it's password protected). Unfortunately, screen space is limited so bear with us while we reconfigure things.

[PaulW]

Thanks Tom. I hope "several years" is enough, especially if an EIS is required.
Like in the movie Contact, I can imagine protes©tors turning up to try to stop the launch.

[TomK]

If anyone wants to protest a rocket launch designed to protect millions of lives, then I hope they do their own environmental impact statement on the effects of a large asteroid striking the Earth. The environmental effects of such an event would be somewhat significant.