Earth almost got nailed, yet again.
- Silent Sniper
- Bondsman of the Crimson Assfro
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Earth almost got nailed, yet again.
Last edited by Silent Sniper on Thu Mar 21, 2002 11:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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The Duke of Slack
Wielder of the Axe of Mass Destruction
Keeper of the Food Loaf
Quote of the random period of time:
Beware, naughty children, for the bells herald Santa's dark harvest of souls...
The Duke of Slack
Wielder of the Axe of Mass Destruction
Keeper of the Food Loaf
Quote of the random period of time:
Beware, naughty children, for the bells herald Santa's dark harvest of souls...
- Silent Sniper
- Bondsman of the Crimson Assfro
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- Location: Bulldrek
Very little. As I recall, soon after the first major early-detected collision, there was a great deal of discussion about it, but it is such a futile effort, and would have such great expense, for next-to-no reward, that it was largely abandoned, except for a few groups here and there. After all, what good does it do us to know?spudman wrote: So how much do we actually search the solar system for potential collisions?
You're basically talking about putting basketballs with buttonhole cameras all over the United States and asking them to find the period at the end of a sentence wherever one appears. At night. In the rain. So, no.spudman wrote: Would placing satellites around the solar system actually help us any?
As far as I can remember with our current technology we can only view around 5% of 'local' space. Thats a 95% chance we're not going to spot something coming until its too late to do anything about it anyway. Yay!
And we all love napalm...theres one thing we've learned...that we all love napalm...its the way that it burns...
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~Apprentice Thread Slayer~
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~Apprentice Thread Slayer~
Actually, I would use much larger satellites, not the typical ones, because obviously you'd need bigger sensors and cameras. I just don't know how much it would help, even if we did put a lot of resources into improving the capability.3278 wrote: You're basically talking about putting basketballs with buttonhole cameras all over the United States and asking them to find the period at the end of a sentence wherever one appears. At night. In the rain. So, no.
An excellent point. The problem with these stations - because they'd be stations, after all, and not satellites - is that they've really no effective, affordable means of detecting blackbodies within the solar system. Not to mention the fact that they have to do more than detect them; they have to detect them, track them, and then compute their trajectories against Earth's. The odds you could build these stations, get them where they need to be, get them to do what they need to do, and never, ever break, and still be able to afford them are about nil.spudman wrote:Actually, I would use much larger satellites, not the typical ones, because obviously you'd need bigger sensors and cameras. I just don't know how much it would help, even if we did put a lot of resources into improving the capability.3278 wrote: You're basically talking about putting basketballs with buttonhole cameras all over the United States and asking them to find the period at the end of a sentence wherever one appears. At night. In the rain. So, no.
Not to mention, of course, the simple fact that they'd do no good. Despite what Armageddon told me, knowing that we're about to get hit by Texas - or even Rhode Island - doesn't help at all. What the hell are we going to do?
- Jackal
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That and they can only roughly detect where it's going to hit anyway. What are they going to do. Evacuate half a hemisphere just to be safe? I won’t say that I could careless if we know we’re about to get hit or not but to echo 32…what are we going to do. Launch nukes at it? That’s like trying to shoot a super-sonic jet with a BB gun.
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“Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority.”
“Logic merely enables one to be wrong with authority.”
Found this entertaining tidbit over on DSF, where this subject is being discussed as well. For some background: Some stupid people were talking about how violent the human race is, and how it wouldn't be a real big loss if we all got annihilated, etc. Then Lucifer comes out with this:
And, for once, I agree with Snow Fox and Bitten. You're all ninnies. It's out right--no, our responsibility!--to pick up on any incoming space rocks and make them our intergalactic b****. Come on, I can't be the only one who's just been dying for a chance to launch a million megatons of piping hot death at something, and this is a target even the lousy peaceniks can agree on!
Don't think of the future. Don't think of the children. Think of the totally kick-A explosions when we bombard some unsuspecting asteroid with enough nuclear juice to atomize it. All I ask is that we have a satellite or two video tape it for posterity.
- Hida Tsuzua
- Bulldrekker
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I'll buy that tape!
Use those nukes!
Hmm can an astronaut ride one like in Dr. Strangelove?
Use those nukes!
Hmm can an astronaut ride one like in Dr. Strangelove?
<hr>Way back when the Way was Way, Way, away, you may have thought that there was no Way to continue along the Way, yet you found a Way. There is a Way, if you find a Way, to follow the Way though the Way seems to give you no Way. Do you see now?"