A comprehensive program for countermeasures against potentially hazardous objects (PHOs)

Autor:	Joy Mukherjee, Asutosh Ghosh, L. N. Johnson, Sidney Chocron, P. T. Giguere, Joyce A. Guzik, Catherine S. Plesko, Paul A. Bradley, W. Patrick, R. Goldstein, W. F. Huebner, James D. Walker, Kenneth H. Wohletz, Daniel C. Boice, J. J. Keady
Rok vydání:	2009
Předmět:	education.field_of_study Computer science Event (computing) Comet Population Potentially hazardous object Astronomy and Astrophysics Plan (drawing) Computer security computer.software_genre Object (philosophy) Space and Planetary Science Asteroid Comet nucleus education computer Remote sensing
Zdroj:	Solar System Research. 43:334-342
ISSN:	1608-3423 0038-0946
DOI:	10.1134/s003809460904008x
Popis:	At the hundredth anniversary of the Tunguska event in Siberia it is appropriate to discuss measures to avoid such occurrences in the future. Recent discussions about detecting, tracking, cataloguing, and characterizing near-Earth objects (NEOs) center on objects larger than about 140 m in size. However, objects smaller than 100 m are more frequent and can cause significant regional destruction of civil infrastructures and population centers. The cosmic object responsible for the Tunguska event provides a graphic example: although it is thought to have been only about 50 to 60 m in size, it devastated an area of about 2000 km2. Ongoing surveys aimed at early detection of a potentially hazardous object (PHO: asteroid or comet nucleus that approaches the Earth’s orbit within 0.05 AU) are only a first step toward applying countermeasures to prevent an impact on Earth. Because “early” may mean only a few weeks or days in the case of a Tunguska-sized object or a longperiod comet, deflecting the object by changing its orbit is beyond the means of current technology, and destruction and dispersal of its fragments may be the only reasonable solution. Highly capable countermeasures- always at the ready—are essential to defending against an object with such short warning time, and therefore short reaction time between discovery and impending impact. We present an outline for a comprehensive plan for countermeasures that includes smaller (Tunguska-sized) objects and long-period comets, focuses on short warning times, uses non-nuclear methods (e.g., hyper-velocity impactor devices and conventional explosives) whenever possible, uses nuclear munitions only when needed, and launches from the ground. The plan calls for international collaboration for action against a truly global threat.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_________::59ddde62291ffaa8ad27edeff1dcf81a https://doi.org/10.1134/s003809460904008x Zobrazit plný text záznamu Plný text ve formátu PDF