How to deflect an asteroid

[dan_bgblue]

Date:
February 19, 2020
Source:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Summary:
Engineers devise a decision map to identify the best mission type to deflect an incoming asteroid.
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FULL STORY

On April 13, 2029, an icy chunk of space rock, wider than the Eiffel Tower is tall, will streak by Earth at 30 kilometers per second, grazing the planet's sphere of geostationary satellites. It will be the closest approach by one of the largest asteroids crossing Earth's orbit in the next decade.

Observations of the asteroid, known as 99942 Apophis, for the Egyptian god of chaos, once suggested that its 2029 flyby would take it through a gravitational keyhole -- a location in Earth's gravity field that would tug the asteroid's trajectory such that on its next flyby, in the year 2036, it would likely make a devastating impact.

Thankfully, more recent observations have confirmed that the asteroid will sling by Earth without incident in both 2029 and 2036. Nevertheless, most scientists believe it is never too early to consider strategies for deflecting an asteroid if one were ever on a crash course with our home planet.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0219152843.htm

[CitizenBBN]

Really, really large vibranium shield.

[Catfan73]

Great time to buy stock in vibranium. And whoever makes surgical masks.

[cannongray]

I always wonder how they find out that the asteroid is coming to Earth or whether it would collide with the Earth. I thought that the prof telescope is enough, but after the Starlink launch, I now consider that different uses of satellites are the only way to observe the possible danger coming from pace cause relly they are perfect in each sphere of life.

[dan_bgblue]

I am not sure how starlink helps in that effort as it is just a satellite based internet provider, just like the service I pay for from Spectrum. It is not doing anything to track incoming boulders, nor is it's competitor the venerable Hughesnet.