Simulation of giant asteroid hitting Earth.

[mikelz777]

Have I posted this before? I seem to remember sending it to a bunch of people.

This is a simulation of a huge asteroid hitting the Earth set to the music of Pink Floyd. It's a pretty impressive job but pretty scary to think about.

Simulation of huge asteroid hitting Earth.

[ghost of miles]

I guess I'll be moving the Mosaics into the bunker...

[Dan Gould]

I call bullshit.

For one, why is the asteroid on fire as it approaches Earth? Heating up as it enters the atmosphere is one thing, but fire can't exist in the absence of oxygen. Is this some sort of volcanic asteroid?

[J.A.W.]

I call bullshit.

For one, why is the asteroid on fire as it approaches Earth? Heating up as it enters the atmosphere is one thing, but fire can't exist in the absence of oxygen. Is this some sort of volcanic asteroid?

Before it enters the atmosphere there can't be any sound either.

[mikelz777]

I call bullshit.

For one, why is the asteroid on fire as it approaches Earth? Heating up as it enters the atmosphere is one thing, but fire can't exist in the absence of oxygen. Is this some sort of volcanic asteroid?

I guess you have to decide how far out Earth's atmosphere extends and whether it appears that that is what's represented in the video. (The impact is the big thing.) I didn't question that so much as I did the final bit of information that "evidence" shows this has happened six times before in Earth's history. Regardless, it's a sobering but visually cool video.

[Dan Gould]

I call bullshit.

For one, why is the asteroid on fire as it approaches Earth? Heating up as it enters the atmosphere is one thing, but fire can't exist in the absence of oxygen. Is this some sort of volcanic asteroid?

Before it enters the atmosphere there can't be any sound either.

I wasn't gonna listen to Pink Floyd, so I didn't notice that!

[Teasing the Korean]

So life as we know it is wiped out, AND we have to go out listening to Gilmore-era Pink Floyd. Talk about adding insult to injury. The asteroid could at least play "Lucifer Sam" or "Bike."

[A Lark Ascending]

So life as we know it is wiped out, AND we have to go out listening to Gilmore-era Pink Floyd. Talk about adding insult to injury. The asteroid could at least play "Lucifer Sam" or "Bike."

Gary Gilmore or John Gilmore? Never knew either were members.

The catastrophe also wiped out an apostrophe in the final seconds.

Anyway, thanks for that. Reminded me to pick up a new battery for my smoke alarm. I can get cheese on toast to simulate similar troubles.

[BruceH]

I call bullshit.

For one, why is the asteroid on fire as it approaches Earth? Heating up as it enters the atmosphere is one thing, but fire can't exist in the absence of oxygen. Is this some sort of volcanic asteroid?

I guess you have to decide how far out Earth's atmosphere extends and whether it appears that that is what's represented in the video. (The impact is the big thing.) I didn't question that so much as I did the final bit of information that "evidence" shows this has happened six times before in Earth's history. Regardless, it's a sobering but visually cool video.

Actually, it has. But not all six impacts were quite THAT big. 500 km in diameter is one huge asteroid! In fact, it's not so much an asteroid as a planetoid, or minor planet (or dwarf planet, if you like.) OTOH, a collision between the early Earth and an object the size of Mars (!!) is what gave us the Moon, without which we'd be screwed. It's doubtful we'd even be here if we didn't have the Moon. So thank God for hyper-sized impacts, I guess.

[Jazzmoose]

I've seen this before; I think it was taken from Cosmos, but I'm not sure.

[papsrus]

... OTOH, a collision between the early Earth and an object the size of Mars (!!) is what gave us the Moon, without which we'd be screwed. It's doubtful we'd even be here if we didn't have the Moon. So thank God for hyper-sized impacts, I guess.

What did I miss? Why would we not be here without the moon?

[BruceH]

... OTOH, a collision between the early Earth and an object the size of Mars (!!) is what gave us the Moon, without which we'd be screwed. It's doubtful we'd even be here if we didn't have the Moon. So thank God for hyper-sized impacts, I guess.

What did I miss? Why would we not be here without the moon?

If we didn't have an unusually large natural satellite to stabilize us, the Earth's orbital inclination would wobble drastically. IOW, our axis of rotation would wander all over the place, sometimes tilting by as much as 90 degrees, and back again, unpredictably. The climate, consequently, would be a chaotic mess. In the unlikely event that humans managed to evolve under such conditions, there'd be no chance that civilization could develop. So getting hit by that Mars-sized hunk of junk four-plus billion years ago is the best thing that ever happened to us, in a certain sense.

Edited October 30, 2010 by BruceH

[Free For All]

... OTOH, a collision between the early Earth and an object the size of Mars (!!) is what gave us the Moon, without which we'd be screwed. It's doubtful we'd even be here if we didn't have the Moon. So thank God for hyper-sized impacts, I guess.

What did I miss? Why would we not be here without the moon?

If we didn't have an unusually large natural satellite to stabilize us, the Earth's orbital inclination would wobble drastically. IOW, our axis of rotation would wander all over the place, sometimes tilting by as much as 90 degrees, and back again, unpredictably. The climate, consequently, would be a chaotic mess. In the unlikely event that humans managed to evolve under such conditions, there'd be no chance that civilization could develop. So getting hit by that Mars-sized hunk of junk four-plus billion years ago is the best thing that ever happened to us, in a certain sense.

You know, it's really a wonder that we're here at all. Just amazing.

It's good to remind ourselves of that fact every now and then.

[papsrus]

... OTOH, a collision between the early Earth and an object the size of Mars (!!) is what gave us the Moon, without which we'd be screwed. It's doubtful we'd even be here if we didn't have the Moon. So thank God for hyper-sized impacts, I guess.

What did I miss? Why would we not be here without the moon?

If we didn't have an unusually large natural satellite to stabilize us, the Earth's orbital inclination would wobble drastically. IOW, our axis of rotation would wander all over the place, sometimes tilting by as much as 90 degrees, and back again, unpredictably. The climate, consequently, would be a chaotic mess. In the unlikely event that humans managed to evolve under such conditions, there'd be no chance that civilization could develop. So getting hit by that Mars-sized hunk of junk four-plus billion years ago is the best thing that ever happened to us, in a certain sense.

Thank you Bruce.

What about other planets that don't have one large moon, but rather a series of much smaller (relatively) moons. Do they wobble? Slightly, significantly? Maybe I'll go look it up later, but haven't the time now.

I do agree that we're lucky (blessed, fortunate, what-have-you) to be here at all.

There was an article in the paper a couple of days ago saying that some group of scientists somewhere had concluded that there are many more planets in our galaxy alone that are similar to earth than had been previously thought. Meaning, I suppose, that the likelihood of life elsewhere just went up. No comment about moons though.

[BruceH]

... OTOH, a collision between the early Earth and an object the size of Mars (!!) is what gave us the Moon, without which we'd be screwed. It's doubtful we'd even be here if we didn't have the Moon. So thank God for hyper-sized impacts, I guess.

What did I miss? Why would we not be here without the moon?

If we didn't have an unusually large natural satellite to stabilize us, the Earth's orbital inclination would wobble drastically. IOW, our axis of rotation would wander all over the place, sometimes tilting by as much as 90 degrees, and back again, unpredictably. The climate, consequently, would be a chaotic mess. In the unlikely event that humans managed to evolve under such conditions, there'd be no chance that civilization could develop. So getting hit by that Mars-sized hunk of junk four-plus billion years ago is the best thing that ever happened to us, in a certain sense.

Thank you Bruce.

What about other planets that don't have one large moon, but rather a series of much smaller (relatively) moons. Do they wobble? Slightly, significantly? Maybe I'll go look it up later, but haven't the time now.

I do agree that we're lucky (blessed, fortunate, what-have-you) to be here at all.

There was an article in the paper a couple of days ago saying that some group of scientists somewhere had concluded that there are many more planets in our galaxy alone that are similar to earth than had been previously thought. Meaning, I suppose, that the likelihood of life elsewhere just went up. No comment about moons though.

I've heard that Mars does, and that one of the outer planets, Uranus or Neptune, I forget which, right now has it's axis pointing almost flat with the ecliptic, which means it's sort of rolling along it's orbit right now. But my limited knowledge ends there. (Though I will say we're also lucky to have a spinning nickel/iron core which generates a strong geo-magnetic field. This shields us from the bulk of the solar wind, without which said wind would have long ago eroded our atmosphere to almost nothing. Mars doesn't have this, and look what happened to its atmosphere.)

Edited October 30, 2010 by BruceH

[Alexander]

It's interesting to see how humanity can only see its own side. If humanity was completely wiped out, the universe would never notice. We're not that important.

[BruceH]

True enough, but I think it's kind of a nifty biosphere we inhabit.

[JSngry]

There was an article in the paper a couple of days ago saying that some group of scientists somewhere had concluded that there are many more planets in our galaxy alone that are similar to earth than had been previously thought. Meaning, I suppose, that the likelihood of life elsewhere just went up.

Or else our awareness of the possibility of it just went up...

[Aggie87]

It's interesting to see how humanity can only see its own side. If humanity was completely wiped out, the universe would never notice. We're not that important.

To us we are. That's really what matters, eh?

[BruceH]

There was an article in the paper a couple of days ago saying that some group of scientists somewhere had concluded that there are many more planets in our galaxy alone that are similar to earth than had been previously thought. Meaning, I suppose, that the likelihood of life elsewhere just went up.

Or else our awareness of the possibility of it just went up...

I can't wait til our awareness of the possibility of faster-than-light travel goes up.

[AllenLowe]

actually, this whole site is NOT here and does not really exist. We're all just part of Chuck Nessa's recurring nightmares. And every time he eats something spicy before going to bed, we get Chewy back.

Edited November 1, 2010 by AllenLowe