How big an asteroid can be?
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How big an asteroid can be?
Asteroids range in size from Vesta – the largest at about 329 miles (530 kilometers) in diameter – to bodies that are less than 33 feet (10 meters) across. The total mass of all the asteroids combined is less than that of Earth’s Moon.
Can you reach 150 million km in length?
The solar winds cause the comet’s tail to point away from the Sun. The tails of comets can reach 150 million kilometers in length! Each time the comet passes close to the Sun, it loses some of its material.
What size asteroid would cause extinction?
Ultimately, scientists estimate that an asteroid would have to be about 96 km (60 miles) wide to completely and utterly wipe out life on our planet.
How many years will it take a comet to orbit the sun?
These Oort Cloud comets can take as long as 30 million years to complete one trip around the Sun. Each comet has a tiny frozen part, called a nucleus, often no larger than a few kilometers across.
How big of an asteroid can be destroyed by a bomb?
The asteroids that would be really worrisome — those larger than 1,312 feet (400 meters) — wouldn’t be easily wiped out by such a bomb. Sure, great hunks of one might break off, but not enough to neutralize the danger.
What is the average size of an asteroid?
To start with, asteroids come in all shapes and sizes. Ceres, the largest known asteroid, stretches 580 miles (933 kilometers) in diameter, while one of the smallest on record, 1991 BA, measures 20 feet (6 meters) across. An asteroid larger than 6.2 miles (10 kilometers)…
Is it possible to defend Earth against a large asteroid?
The need to defend against a large asteroid is slim, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility. NASA scientists estimate that an object larger than 400 meters (1,312 feet) in diameter could collide with Earth about once every 160,000 years [source: Graham ].
Can We deflect an asteroid with nuclear weapons?
In its report, NASA outlined several options, a few of which involved using nuclear explosives to deflect the asteroid away from Earth. The force from the explosions would (hopefully) provide enough momentum to nudge the asteroid in a different direction, preventing disaster.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpEmxI3EZPU