Baub

My opinion may seem harsh. However, I think we should show this Sea Captain the respect he deserves. He made an honorable decision when he bartered himself for his crews safety, knowing it could mean his life. We should give the enemy one hour to release the Captain. One hour later, two Seals should silently surface at the boat and kill all the pirates.

Exactly why such a venture would need to be undertaken by a group of countries, under the unifying banner of species preservation. These countries would need to share the responsiblities, from design through oversight.

I think it all comes down to funding. I am sure that it is easier to allocate funding for something "warm and fuzzy" like finding another earth than for something as frightening as addressing doomseday scenarios. Most people will hear that an object passed 45,000 miles from Earth and think....so what.

Understood. I like your signature.

I will go out on a limb. Or.....it could be extremely focussed Qi(chi). I know this is outside accepted western science, but I think science will eventually support the existence of it.

The spread sounds like the major hurdle. Early detection would be instrumental in maneuvering closer....or, perhaps some sort of relay stations that could recieve the focused power and direct it at the object?

It will be exciting to see what data comes back. I think we need to let go of the premise of a"habitable zone". It is arrogant of us to assume that we know all scenarios in which life forms. Perhaps environments we have labeled as uninhabitable are where life off earth is thriving?

I agree with you that some sort of beam or laser makes the most sense. How about a solar powered, magnesium combustion, laser?

I take it then, that fossils this old are very rare? The samples from the Kola bore hole were estimated at 2.7 billion years old.

Perhaps as space shuttles are scheduled to retire from service, due to the stresses of launch and re-entry, they could be positioned in orbit? They could be unmanned, and when a NEO threat was detected, they could "shadow" the object. Judging from the NASA experiments I mentioned earlier, the magnetic field generated by the spacecraft could work as a gravity tractor and nudge it off course.

Thanks for the input. Yes, it definitely makes sense. I am aware of sea floors on mountain tops, I just did not realize a sea floor could be pulled down like that. It amazes me that, not only was it pulled down, but the plankton remained in tact. The forces being exerted on it are astounding. I am surprised the plankton wasn't ground into a fine dust.

I recently read an article: The Deepest Hole by Alan Bellows, discussing the Kola Superdeep Bore Hole project. The article states.. "Another unexpected find was a menagerie of microscopic fossils as deep as 6.7 kilometers below the surface. Twenty-four distinct species of plankton microfossils were found, and they were discovered to have carbon and nitrogen coverings rather than the typical limestone or silica. Despite the harsh environment of heat and pressure, the microscopic remains were remarkably intact". How is this possible?

How about International Step Parent day. A truley tough job, but worth the effort. Plus it could easily tie in with "Support Your Local Brewery Day". I sometimes reflect on my parenting over a pint of black ale.

True, and I did not allow for the effects of a "nuclear winter". If....lets say next week, seismologists predict an imminent eruption of Yellowstone, there would be nothing we could do to prevent it. However, if we can detect an object on a collision course with earth, we may be able to save our species.

True. I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to take the kids to Yellowstone. A Yellowstone eruption would be a devistating event, but the threat from space COULD be an exstinction level event.

Sorry your sick. I am not currently down with the flu bug, but I have three kids who bring it home often. Remember to hydrate! Pedialyte pops are awsome for speeding your recovery.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely! I think the best scenario would be a system that is not specifically designed, funded, implimented, or managed by one global power.

Since CCD technology is being used in photometry, I don't see why it couln't be integrated into radar. Having a computer monitoring the data would certainly be better than staffing stations. Of course, I think it would be agreat job. I am also wondering if the deflection systems, could be in a state of orbit at various intervals ready to be launched via commands from the monitoring stations. Perhaps, the deflection system, as it remained in orbit, could also serve as a remote sensor? Once something is placed in orbit, isn't it rather simple to maintain that orbit? It would only need to utilize its fuel when it was prompted, by the monitoring station, to move.

I love the TED lectures. I am sorry to say that I was totally ignorant exploration that deep had occured. Great ideas about a fuel station in space, and the potential of the moon. I like your idea about using the magnetic field of the sun. It seems to me that utilizing existing forces like the sun's magnetic field would be instrumental in keeping cost down. Perhaps some of our local physics experts can shed some light on this?

How hard is it to launch from the surface of the moon, as compared to earth? I am wondering if we launched defensive mechanisms from the moon rather than earth if we could shorten the time of intercept.

I did a google on the gravitational attractor; it lead me to aan article in NewScientist July 2008 by David L Chandler in which he discussed the theory of a gravity tractor. It said that NASA had performed experiments that showed the weak gravitational field from a nearby space ship could have enough of an influence on an object 130Km wide to deflect it from earth. I would have thought that a much larger gravitational field would be required. Sounds like exlploring gravity based defenses is where we should be. Merged post follows: Consecutive posts merged How much of an impact on earth would exploding a nuke next to the object have? I am sure the effects of the nuke would be better than the impact of the object. As for the problem of detection.....would it buy us any time to put some type of monitoring station on the moon?

A while back, using a missle, the US Navy successfully shot down a small satellite as is plummeted back to earth. I realize this was a very small scale compared to what you are describing, but is it likely that the Department Of Defense possesses the missle power to deflect a large object?

Wasn't the "Star Wars" project of the Reagan administration designed to detect and perhaps defend against, not only ICBM, but NEO threats? I was under the impression that Reagan could not push it through due to funding. Was it actually a lack of scientific feasibility? Also, sorry to sound facetiuos, but maybe with all the space debris we have up there these NEO threats will will be deflected away from earth when they start colliding with all the garbage?????????

Yes, exactly what I have been bouncing around in my head. What is amazing to me, is that it has taken 43 years for me to grasp what should be a fundamental premise.

Outstanding!