Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
NEOImpactor Software Models Asteroid Strike Consequences
University of Southampton researchers have developed NEOImpactor, a software package that models asteroid impacts and assesses the potential consequences for human beings and their economy. The software package was developed by Nick Bailey and Dr Graham Swinerd of the University of Southampton's School of Engineering Sciences, and Dr Richard Crowther of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.
NEOImpactor is specifically designed for measuring the impact and consequences of "small" asteroids - those measuring less than one kilometer in diameter. According to NEOImpactor, the ten countries most at risk from small asteroid strikes are China, Indonesia, India, Japan, the United States, the Philippines, Italy, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Nigeria.
(Asteroid 2003 SQ222)
The International Spaceguard survey has been cataloguing near Earth asteroids larger than one kilometer in diameter. Smaller asteroids remain undetected. Some, like asteroid 2003 SQ222 (shown above), come very close to Earth - just 54,700 miles. Astronomers estimate that there are about 500 million undiscovered asteroids the size of 2003 SQ222 or larger that exist in the same area of space through which Earth orbits.
The damage that an asteroid can do increases with size and impact velocity. An asteroid just 200 meters in diameter hitting one of Earth's oceans could cause tsunamis around the world. The largest asteroid strike in recent human memory, at the Tunguska River in Russia, felled 80 million trees over an area of 2,150 kilometers. That object's size has been estimated at about 50 meters in diameter.
As human civilization spreads across the Earth, the possibility of disaster from an asteroid impact increases. These stories demonstrate the variety of possible responses:
- Proposal To Move An Asteroid
Edward Lu of the B612 Foundation offers a "bold new proposal" to demonstrate altering the orbit of an asteroid. - Russian Response To Possible Asteroid Impact
The Russian government has been active in studying the problem for the last few years. - MADMEN Robot Swarm To Handle Incoming Asteroids?
Modular Asteroid Deflection Mission Ejector Node robots would bolster planetary defenses.
Read more at Centauri Dreams.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/5/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
The New Habitable Zones Include Asimov's Ribbon Worlds
'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.' - Harl Vincent, 1931.
Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again?
'They filed clumsily into the battleroom, like children in a swimming pool for the first time, clinging to the handholds along the side.' - Orson Scott Card, 1985.
Reflect Orbital Offers 'Sunlight on Demand' And Light Pollution
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors...'
Chrysalis Generation Ship to Alpha Centauri
'This was their world, their planet —
this swift-traveling, yet seemingly moveless vessel.' - Nat Schachner, 1934
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
The New Habitable Zones Include Asimov's Ribbon Worlds
'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.'
3D Printing A 12-Meter Boat Hull
'It makes drawings in the air...'
China Still Working On Rescue Robot That Eats People
Firefighter Rescue Robot Eats Humans - again!
Lawyer AIs Create Chaos In Our Legal System
'I want my lawyer program.'
Chinese Hospital Tries Vonnegut's 'Harrison Bergeron' Cosplay
'He wore spectacles with thick wavy lenses. The spectacles were intended to make him not only half
blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides.'
Robot Clerks Become A Reality In China
'The robot clerk in the waiting-room checked her number...'
Can One Robot Do Many Tasks?
'... with the Master-operator all you have to do is push one! A remarkable achievement!'
Atlas Robot Makes Uncomfortable Movements
'Not like me. A T-1000, advanced prototype. A mimetic poly-alloy. Liquid metal.'
Boring Company Drills Asimov's Single Vehicle Tunnels
'It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
Humanoid Robots Tickle The Ivories
'The massive feet working the pedals, arms and hands flashing and glinting...'
A Remarkable Coincidence
'There is a philosophical problem of some difficulty here...'
Cortex 1 - Today A Warehouse, Tomorrow A Calculator Planet
'There were cubic miles of it, and it glistened like a silvery Christmas tree...'
Perching Ambush Drones
'On the chest of drawers something was perched.'
Leader-Follower Autonomous Vehicle Technology
'Jason had been guiding the caravan of cars as usual...'
Golf Ball Test Robot Wears Them Out
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
Boring Company Vegas Loop Like Asimov Said
'There was a wall ahead... It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
