Re: Asteroid Problem

[brian whatcott <inet@INTELLISYS.NET>]

At 19:16 8/24/01 -0700, Bill Prescott wrote:
> /snip/
> regarding the best way to precisely deflect an
> earth-bound asteroid into a benign orbit around the earth.
/snip/
> a 1 megaton fusion bomb
> exploded at an appropriately close distance and with sufficient
> lead-time would be able to nudge a 1 km diameter asteroid out of a
> collision trajectory with the earth.
> /snip/
> What would be the best way, using current technology, to deliver this
> energy to the surface of the asteriod?  High energy lasers such as the
> ones being developed by DOD? Or accelerating hydrogen nuclei [i.e., a
> proton beam] at very high relativistic speeds? Or some other way?
>
> Hoping someone will humor us and give us some pointers.  Many thanks.
> Bill Prescott

I played this game too. I favored the direct approach: astronauts
drill and plant one or more 20 MT bombs.
(Wasn't there a movie on the topic?)
 The further away, the better. Still, for an expanding sphere of debris,
an Earth diameter core would still rain down. Better to direct the blast
 transversely. perhaps with a ring of three or five diametral shots
timed to pop in a plane intersecting earth's orbital position at impact.

Brian

brian whatcott <inet@intellisys.net>  Altus OK
                Eureka!