Science speculation! Asteroid is going to hit Earth.

[Razgovory]

Scenario:  Astronomers identify a small group of asteroid on a collision course with the Earth.  These are fairly large asteroids, likely to cause a KT level extinction event.  It's not clear
where they will land on the Earth, just that they will in about 10 years (ten years is a good round number and technology sin't likely to change significantly in this time frame).

Assuming that efforts to deflect the asteroids are unreliable (which is likely), what can governments around the world do to protect their citizens from this event and the aftermath?


I was thinking of enlarging existing caves and mines (ideally away from the ocean, and placing bunkers to protect the populace along with materials to build greenhouses and underground
nuclear power plants to power them.

[Ideologue]

Wait, is each asteroid a Chicxulub-sized impactor, or do all of them together form one K-T-sized impact?

[Neil]

Launch a large artificial satellite into orbit of the impactor, which should alter its orbital characteristics over nine or ten years that it will miss.

It doesn't take much.  Angular momentum is conserved.

[Josquius]

Or just set off a nuke on the side of the thing, that should throw it quite a way off course and shouldn't require much special engineering.
With 10 years it can be deflected easily.

In a silly theoretical though...Not telling everyone would be the smartest move.

[CountDeMoney]

Launch a large artificial satellite into orbit of the impactor, which should alter its orbital characteristics over nine or ten years that it will miss.

Depends on if we launch it with imperial or metric calculations.

[Tonitrus]

Launch a large artificial satellite into orbit of the impactor, which should alter its orbital characteristics over nine or ten years that it will miss.

Depends on if we launch it with imperial or metric calculations.

Or let the Russian's launch it, so it can hit the asteroid on its way into the Pacific Ocean.

[11B4V]

Scenario:  Astronomers identify a small group of asteroid on a collision course with the Earth.  These are fairly large asteroids, likely to cause a KT level extinction event.  It's not clear
where they will land on the Earth, just that they will in about 10 years (ten years is a good round number and technology sin't likely to change significantly in this time frame).

Eh, I'd be more concerned with Yellowstone blowing up.

[Monoriu]

Tell the Americans and let them figure out the rest. 

[Eddie Teach]

Tell the Americans and let them figure out the rest.

You've been watching too many Hollywood movies. 

[Razgovory]

Wait, is each asteroid a Chicxulub-sized impactor, or do all of them together form one K-T-sized impact?

There is reason to believe that the Chicxulub impactor was not the only one.

[Razgovory]

Launch a large artificial satellite into orbit of the impactor, which should alter its orbital characteristics over nine or ten years that it will miss.

It doesn't take much.  Angular momentum is conserved.

There is no capability to do that at this time.  At least one that is quick enough to reach asteroid in time.  The best you could do is 4-5 years (and that's really pushing it), and as I said, there is more then one.

[Razgovory]

Or just set off a nuke on the side of the thing, that should throw it quite a way off course and shouldn't require much special engineering.
With 10 years it can be deflected easily.

In a silly theoretical though...Not telling everyone would be the smartest move.

Funny thing about space, it takes a long time to get from one place to another.  If that small group of asteroids are going to take 10 years to get here, it'll take quite some time to send something to them.

[Grey Fox]

Tell the Americans and let them figure out the rest.

China will foot the bill tho.

[Neil]

Or just set off a nuke on the side of the thing, that should throw it quite a way off course and shouldn't require much special engineering.
With 10 years it can be deflected easily.

In a silly theoretical though...Not telling everyone would be the smartest move.

Funny thing about space, it takes a long time to get from one place to another.  If that small group of asteroids are going to take 10 years to get here, it'll take quite some time to send something to them.

Not at all.  It's not like the asteroid is 'coming right for us'.  These sorts of issues are intersecting orbit problems.

[Razgovory]

This one is.  There is nothing that says it can't be coming straight for us.