Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #asteroidday
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For #AsteroidDay, some thoughts about the threat and the history of addressing it.
tl;dr Don't worry about the asteroids; worry a bit about the way science works.
tl;dr Don't worry about the asteroids; worry a bit about the way science works.
So: there was a time in the early/mid 1980s when a very few people had begun to worry about the threat of asteroid impacts, but no-one has started to do anything about it.
Their worries were focused on the possibility that the impact of a large asteroid (a body with a diameter >1km) would create something like a nuclear winter -- a smaller version of the dinosaur-killing apocalypse 66m years ago which might kill a quarter of Earth's population.
As I continue my quest to find the paper “Kletetschka, G., Radana, K. & Hakan, U. Evidence of shock-generated plasma’s demagnetization in the shock-exposed rocks. Sci. Rep. (2021)” that was cited by #TEHbust, the #TallElHammam #BiblicalArchaeology paper, I'll discuss #Tunguska. 
The Sodom & Gomorrah airburst team cited this in support of their claim that a Tunguska-like airburst can generate shocked quartz, even though—according to experts on shocked quartz—none has ever been found that is associated with #Tunguska. Shocked quartz looks like this.
I met the lead author, Gunther Kletetschka, in Russia in 2008 and we enjoyed time together doing field work in the destruction zone of the 1908 #Tunguska airburst. It was for a Discovery Channel documentary shoot on June 30, 2008: the 100th anniversary of #AsteroidDay
Mystery is defined as something unexplainable, or impossible to understand.
- By definition it means you will have to keep alot of things private. Otherwise you will not master the art of mystery.
- By definition it means you will have to keep alot of things private. Otherwise you will not master the art of mystery.
1. Don't be always available.
Tend to appear occasionally, and disappear most if the times , you can juggle that with different circles of friends.
Tend to appear occasionally, and disappear most if the times , you can juggle that with different circles of friends.
¡Es hoy, es hoy! A raíz del evento de Tunguska, en 1908, se ha decretado el 30 de junio como el #DíaDelAsteroide #AsteroidDay ☄️💥🌏
Aún se debate si el bólido fue un asteroide (quizá metálico) o un cometa. El objeto explotó antes de llegar al suelo, liberando gran energía y se estima que pudo tener un rango de tamaño de entre 60 y 1000 m de diámetro. #DíadelAsteroide #Tunguska apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap071114.…
Este increíble suceso ahora nos invita a conocer a los asteroides más allá de los daños potenciales que puedan ocasionar, como el entender qué son, dónde están y por qué son importantes para la ciencia y para todos ☄️🌏🔭📚 #AsteroidDay #DiadelAsteroide
We continue our #AsteroidDay content and, looking to the future, Prof of Planetary and Space Science, Simon Green is working on space missions that will visit asteroids in coming years.
Why? For planetary defence - how we protect Earth from impact by space rocks in the future.
Why? For planetary defence - how we protect Earth from impact by space rocks in the future.
One of the planetary defence missions is @NASA's DART and the other is @esa’s HERA, both looking at how to deflect asteroids on a collision course with Earth. @ESA have a great video narrated by @DrBrianMay all about how these missions are connected.
For the research side, you can check out Prof Simon Green’s research about the science behind DART and HERA for asteroid deflection.
oro.open.ac.uk/46198/
oro.open.ac.uk/46198/
Today we’re posting asteroid content to celebrate #AsteroidDay.
In case you missed it this morning, @ESA made a programme as part of @AsteroidDay, which included @StarkeyStardust as a guest. It’s a good place to start on your @AsteroidDay journey.
In case you missed it this morning, @ESA made a programme as part of @AsteroidDay, which included @StarkeyStardust as a guest. It’s a good place to start on your @AsteroidDay journey.
Another key aspect of asteroid science is in figuring out the danger they pose to life on Earth. The poor dinosaurs owe their demise to a large space rock colliding with our planet but in this article, @monicaGrady discusses what small asteroids could do.
open.edu/openlearn/scie…
open.edu/openlearn/scie…
Asteroids that pose a risk to Earth are 'near-Earth asteroids' - those objects that are close to our planet. This video includes Prof of Planetary and Space Science, Simon Green, speaking about them after @ajnorton3 talks about ‘A Clockwork Universe’.
#EUSpace for planetary defence #AsteroidDay
Monitoring of Near-Earth Objects #NEOs - asteroids or comets that come close to Earth🌍 - is essential for the security of our planet
A number of research projects aimed at improving our understanding of #NEOs are funded by #H2020 🇪🇺
Monitoring of Near-Earth Objects #NEOs - asteroids or comets that come close to Earth🌍 - is essential for the security of our planet
A number of research projects aimed at improving our understanding of #NEOs are funded by #H2020 🇪🇺
Image credit @esa
More information on the ongoing projects at
NEOShield-2 cordis.europa.eu/project/id/640…
NEOROCKS cordis.europa.eu/project/id/870…
NEO-MAPP cordis.europa.eu/project/id/870…
NEOShield-2 cordis.europa.eu/project/id/640…
NEOROCKS cordis.europa.eu/project/id/870…
NEO-MAPP cordis.europa.eu/project/id/870…
To mark #AsteroidDay, we’ve got a whole day of #asteroid content ready for you. Stay on board to learn how and why we study asteroids with spacecraft, and how we protect Earth from them colliding with us. We'll even look at #SpaceMining!
#AsteroidDay was founded by astrophysicist @DrBrianMay, Astronaut Rusty Schweickart Filmmaker @GrigRichters; and B612 President Danica Remy, to encourage the public and governments to learn more about asteroids and the role they play in our Solar System.
#AsteroidDay marks the anniversary of the largest asteroid impact in recorded history, Tunguska, 1908. Such impacts are part of the reason scientists study asteroids, working on resources to search for and deflect asteroids from Earth-crossing orbits.
asteroidday.org/about/
asteroidday.org/about/
2️⃣ days til #AsteroidDay!
The second most likely asteroid to strike Earth is 2018 VP1. A tiny little thing, it is estimated to be just 2.4 m in diameter and has a (relatively) high chance of striking Earth in November this year of 1 in 193
#SpaceCare💙
#PlanetaryDefence🌍
The second most likely asteroid to strike Earth is 2018 VP1. A tiny little thing, it is estimated to be just 2.4 m in diameter and has a (relatively) high chance of striking Earth in November this year of 1 in 193
#SpaceCare💙
#PlanetaryDefence🌍
Even though 2018 VP1 seems very small, meteorites still regularly reach Earth's surface - it all depends on the composition of the asteroid.
ESA & @mfnberlin are currently studying the physical processes as an asteroid enters Earth's atmosphere with velocities above 11 km/s
ESA & @mfnberlin are currently studying the physical processes as an asteroid enters Earth's atmosphere with velocities above 11 km/s
In 2018, a similarly small object - 2018 LA - entered Earth over Botswana and South Africa. This was only the third asteroid that was detected before it impacted Earth
📷Barend Swanepoel
📷Barend Swanepoel
1. @ExtinctionR Having looked at some of your policies & grievances my advice to you as a scientist is to do your own research before you jump to conclusions; resist the temptation to go down a EnergyDeadEnd path before really appreciating after years of research life's realities
2. @ExtinctionR scenario has come about through a few scientists exaggerating #ClimateChange which is a natural phenomena that has occurred since Earth had an atmosphere; one of the variables keeping us warm is yes photosynthesising #TraceGas #CO2 as well as water vapour (clouds)
3. @ExtinctionR Earth's CO2 levels vary over time & currently only 0.041% or to make it sound larger 410ppm on average; at levels below 200ppm to 150ppm #photosynthesis ceases & all life relying on plants will die off.
Many other variables are involved with #ClimateChange e.g.Sun
Many other variables are involved with #ClimateChange e.g.Sun
As I prepare slides & we pack bags for Luxembourg & #AsteroidDay, something strange is appearing in skies over #NewMexico & around the world. Noctilucent clouds—shimmering wisps in twilight sky—are normally only seen on poleward side of 50°. This year they're below 35°. Why!?
NLCs are easily visible to naked eye, but were never reported before the industrial revolution had kicked into high gear. The first confirmed observations were in 1885. It's tempting to link them to fossil-fuel driven climate change but could that generate clouds 50 miles up?
Human-caused global warming causes stratospheric & mesospheric cooling, which might suggest more condensation of ice particles that make up NLCs. But colder air means crystals are also smaller, with a counterintuitive visibility reduction. earther.gizmodo.com/humans-are-mak…
