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Richie Nover Per. 2 Science Regents Paper Project One Asteroid, Meteor, or
Comet Impact on the Earth! An asteroid is a small or minor planets that are
members of the solar system and move in elliptical orbits. Usually found between
the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. A comet is relatively small, rocky, and icy. It
revolves around the sun. When a comet passes close to the sun some of the ice
turns to gas. This gas and some loose dust creates a long, bright tail that
trails behind the comet. A meteor is a small solid object entering a planets
atmosphere from outer space. Meteors sometimes come as fireballs, and shooting
or falling stars.
If anyone of these hit the earth, even something relatively
small in size, it would do great damage. If a relatively small 200-meter
asteroid hit an ocean it would create devastation to all cities near the coast.
This is because it would create an enormous wave that would be like a tremendous
wall of water that would cause all of the large cities on the coast to be under
water. If a one-kilometer asteroid hit the land it would create a dust cloud
that would block the sun and all food production would be destroyed. This dust
cloud would cover the earth for years and years. A 400-500 kilometer object were
to hit, it would evaporate all the oceans on the earth. If a 1500 kilometer
object were to hit it would vaporize rocks and other debris, the temperature
would rise to 2000k, the atmosphere would exceed 100 times more pressure than
now, it would flash steam the oceans, and there would not be a drop of rain for
2000 to 3000 years.
There have been evidences that in the past there have been
impacts to our planet. Around 50,000 years ago a meteor hit the earth with
around a 20 to 40 megaton explosion. In this area lived mammoths, sloth, bison,
packrats, mastodons, mountain goats, camel, horses, and tapirs. At ground zero
animals and plants were immediately vaporized. Wind scoured the land in a 3 to 5
km radius from the point of impact. The land was buried by ejected and
overturned bedrock. One half of anything within 9 to 14 km would die from the
air blasts. But the impact effects would only be severe within an 800 to 1500km
area. No global extinction would occur. Yet on the evidence from the impact
around 65 million years ago was a global catastrophe.
Animal extinctions, plants
died, atmosphere black out and vaporization of oceans those were some of the
things that come with this impact. In the case of knowing we are having a
catastrophic impact how would we deal with it? For a smaller asteroid we would
use evacuations. Also not knowing if they would work, missiles could be aimed
towards incoming objects to deflect then away from the earth. And even solar
powered motors on the object could also be used to change the direction of the
object. I take the threats of impacts very seriously. But the information I have
read in these packets has shown no particularly bad impacts from space for the
next hundred to ten thousand years. I feel safe knowing this information. I am
for government funding to go towards precautionary measures. Even though it’s
not a very high chance, there is a chance of impacts and they should be dealt
with.
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