Planet Earth is bombarded by space debris on a 24/7 basis
October 4th 2008 06:59
Planet Earth is bombarded by space debris on a 24/7 basis, most of the impacts are lightweights small meteorites no larger than pebbles. Every 400 thousand years or so earth has an encounter with something a little larger by larger I mean bigger than a house and anything up to 7 kilometers in diameter, now imagine if you multiplied this by two!.
Asteroids with diameters of 5-10m impact the Earth's atmosphere approximately once per year the energy released is equivalent to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
Almost ten percent of the largest known impact craters on Earth are twin impact craters or binary craters (Binary asteroids two rocky objects orbiting about one another) they also appear elsewhere in our solar system. Our Moon and planet Venus have similar doublets with two impact craters formed in close proximity, formed by the nearly simultaneous impact of objects of comparable size. Mars also has doublet craters the statistics for binary crater formation Mars is in the order of 3 percent.
What causes these double impacts is a matter of celestial mechanics. The theory is that an asteroid crossing a planets orbital path is influenced by the planet’s gravity causing the asteroid to spin very rapidly and brake in two; binary asteroids appear to be common in Earth-crossing orbits.
These objects are monitored by astronomers world wide. Asteroids come from the asteroid belt, a region of dust and rubble material located between the planets Mars and Jupiter.
A report published by the journal Science estimates that about 16 percent of so-called near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) larger than 200 meters (219 yards) in diameter are likely to be binary systems. NEAs consist of piles of rubble held together by gravity.
There are many examples of double impact craters on earth. July 2008 we were visited by binary asteroid,
which passed 1.4 million miles from Earth, shining like a 13th magnitude star. Previously, astronomers believed 2008 BT18 was "just another" near-Earth asteroid, but radar images of the asteroid obtained by Arecibo radio telescope found it in fact had a partner.
The twin lakes craters formed 290 million years ago in Quebec, Canada is a good example.
The Clearwater lakes have a rim diameter 32 kilometers (20 miles).
Asteroids with diameters of 5-10m impact the Earth's atmosphere approximately once per year the energy released is equivalent to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
Almost ten percent of the largest known impact craters on Earth are twin impact craters or binary craters (Binary asteroids two rocky objects orbiting about one another) they also appear elsewhere in our solar system. Our Moon and planet Venus have similar doublets with two impact craters formed in close proximity, formed by the nearly simultaneous impact of objects of comparable size. Mars also has doublet craters the statistics for binary crater formation Mars is in the order of 3 percent.
What causes these double impacts is a matter of celestial mechanics. The theory is that an asteroid crossing a planets orbital path is influenced by the planet’s gravity causing the asteroid to spin very rapidly and brake in two; binary asteroids appear to be common in Earth-crossing orbits.
These objects are monitored by astronomers world wide. Asteroids come from the asteroid belt, a region of dust and rubble material located between the planets Mars and Jupiter.
A report published by the journal Science estimates that about 16 percent of so-called near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) larger than 200 meters (219 yards) in diameter are likely to be binary systems. NEAs consist of piles of rubble held together by gravity.
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There are many examples of double impact craters on earth. July 2008 we were visited by binary asteroid,
Radar image taken by radio telescope of asteroid 2008 BT18: credit Arecibo
twin impact site Clearwater Lakes, Quebec, Canada : image credit NASA/STS61A-35-86
The twin lakes craters formed 290 million years ago in Quebec, Canada is a good example.
The Clearwater lakes have a rim diameter 32 kilometers (20 miles).
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Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
Comment by CarlCan
Astroearth
Thank you for popping in.
I particularly enjoyed your article on Celestial Navigation and the GPS Age.
Somehow looking at a GPS has taken all the romance out of navigation.
yes what do you do with out a little clestial navigation knowledge in a crisis.
The same can be said for using Morse code while it may be about dated but if you don’t have a microphone you can still get a message out by using two wires.
I worked as a radio operator in the 1960s so Morse code has saved me on more than one occasion.
Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief