Saturday, October 1, 2022

Asteroid Collisions vs NASA by Diane Burton

(Image credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben)

Who doesn't love a good disaster movie? Probably my favorite is "Armageddon" where Bruce Willis and a bunch of misfits save Earth from a killer asteroid. Released near the same time was another disaster movie "Deep Impact" with Tea Leoni. (spoiler alert: she doesn't save Earth). The methods used in these movies are so far-fetched that we'd better not depend on Hollywood to save us if an asteroid really does threaten to destroy our planet. 

Last week, NASA proved there's a better way. Nudge it. That's not dramatic enough to hold anyone's attention for a two-hour movie. DART, an unmanned spacecraft, slammed into a moonlet of a bigger asteroid and changed the orbit of the big one.

This was just a test. No "planet killer" asteroid was headed for Earth. This one, Didymos, was minding its own business, happily orbiting the sun until NASA decided to use it as a test. Is it possible for an asteroid to hit Earth? Sure. That's what destroyed the dinosaurs. 

Did it work? Did DART divert Didymos' orbit? It will take months to know for sure.

Meantime, we can sleep easier knowing that NASA is on the job, not Hollywood. 

5 comments:

Nancy Gideon said...

Every time I watch one of those disater movies I go into major anxiety moments of "it could happen" and "what would I do?" Really where would you go? The basement? Now that truth and fiction are getting closer together I stick to watching less apocolyptic fantasy. Real Housewives of South Lansing? I think not. That's TOO scary!

Maureen said...

I enjoy watching those movies, but would never want to experience them for myself.

Anonymous said...

Don’t watch disaster movies often. Though I have seen both of those. Don’t like bad endings. Anyway I enjoyed your post, and watching as NASA prepared to nudge the astroid. I am with you thank goodness NASA is on the job not leaving it to Hollywood. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Above comment is by TENA STETLER

Jessica E. Subject said...

I've seen both of those movies, and always thought there was a better way. It's kind of nice to know NASA is taking a pro-active approach to the possibility of it happening in our lifetime.