tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20092824.post6494743844287553845..comments2024-01-30T19:45:36.648+11:00Comments on Lounge of the Lab Lemming: Asteroid 2008TC3 is now the Almahata Sitta meteoriteC W Mageehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09706100504739548720noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20092824.post-84952713700103859362009-05-24T13:51:56.530+10:002009-05-24T13:51:56.530+10:00What I remember is that it was thought to graze th...What I remember is that it was thought to graze the atmosphere, dumping lots of (I guess) radiant energy overhead, without creating a massive impact that would throw up enough particulates to disrupt things worldwide.<br /><br />Remember that whatever-it-was might have broken up, either high in the atmosphere or due to previous gravitational stress, so there might have been lots of smaller Chris Phoenixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13368959552769808835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20092824.post-19192106341323016692009-04-14T06:46:00.000+10:002009-04-14T06:46:00.000+10:00What is the mechanism by which a bolide wipes out ...What is the mechanism by which a bolide wipes out a continent without having a global scale atmospheric effect?C W Mageehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09706100504739548720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20092824.post-47062860161107174472009-04-09T02:41:00.000+10:002009-04-09T02:41:00.000+10:00As I said, it's a theory, not a fact.But at the mo...As I said, it's a theory, not a fact.<BR/><BR/>But at the moment, there's good evidence that a continent-killing meteorite may have hit less than 15,000 years ago.<BR/><BR/>Such an event today would be unimaginably catastrophic. (It would have been back then also, but the people who actually knew about it would have all died.)<BR/><BR/>I find it interesting that no one is arguing against the Chris Phoenixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13368959552769808835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20092824.post-79361481763387900572009-04-07T21:15:00.000+10:002009-04-07T21:15:00.000+10:00"There's a theory that around 12,000 years ago, an..."There's a theory that around 12,000 years ago, an asteroid grazed the atmosphere over North America and torched the place, killing every human on the continent."<BR/><BR/>That is by no means the scientific consensus. Have a look at this blog post by Steven Novella for a quick overview of the current debate: http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=511Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07914817344317935216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20092824.post-60554885963400167362009-04-01T05:17:00.000+11:002009-04-01T05:17:00.000+11:00Um, it's the slightly smaller cousins of the dinos...Um, it's the slightly smaller cousins of the dinosaur killer that come along every few thousand years.<BR/><BR/>There's a theory that around 12,000 years ago, an asteroid grazed the atmosphere over North America and torched the place, killing every human on the continent.<BR/><BR/>Others have done the math on risk vs. cost of risk reduction. I agree there are lots of tangible risks that we shouldChris Phoenixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13368959552769808835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20092824.post-57032422860609623172009-03-31T23:11:00.000+11:002009-03-31T23:11:00.000+11:00Given that the dinosaurs lived 150 million years, ...Given that the dinosaurs lived 150 million years, I don't think dinosaur killers come along every few thousand years. There is a five order of magnitude disconnect there.<BR/><BR/>Humans have a natural tendency to overemphasize unique catastrophes over chronic problems already. Scientists have a duty to correct this misplaced prioritization, not take advantage of it. Fluvial flooding or air C W Mageehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09706100504739548720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20092824.post-60418251632494113182009-03-31T04:55:00.000+11:002009-03-31T04:55:00.000+11:00You're arguing against a strawman. No one is propo...You're arguing against a strawman. No one is proposing that we send up a multi-billion-dollar rocket against a rock that would do, at most, a few million dollars in damage. Your science is safe.<BR/><BR/>What people are worried about is a "dinosaur killer" asteroid, or its slightly smaller cousins. The kind that comes along only once every few thousand years, but can devastate a whole continent Chris Phoenixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13368959552769808835noreply@blogger.com