1. Using the Web Browser of your choice go to the Google Search Engine: http://w
ID: 153219 • Letter: 1
Question
1. Using the Web Browser of your choice go to the Google Search Engine: http://www.google.com. Once in Google, do a search for asteroid and comet impact hazards, by typing in the following words:
asteroid comet hazards
Make sure to include the spaces.
Google should return a list of sites that contain these words. One of the sites should be the NASA Near Earth Objects Page.
This page has changed recently, and is not longer as concise and user friendly as it used to be. Nevertheless, you should be able to find the answers to the following questions. If necessary, search for other web pages.
a. What is the threshold size of an object that would produce a catastrophic disaster if it struck the earth? (1 point)
b. How often is it expected that an asteroid or comet with a diameter greater than this threshold size strikes the earth? (1 point)
c. Why would collision with such an object produce more than just a local effect? (1 point)
Explanation / Answer
a)The threshold diameter of an object that would produce a catastrophic disaster is 1-2 km. As well, the mass of such an object has been suggested by some studies to be several tens of billions of tons.
b)A NEO with a diameter of 2 km collides with the earth roughly once every million years.
c)An impact from such a large NEO would cause an “impact winter” which would inflict severe environmental harm and cause the loss of crops and food supplies. An even larger impact could cause mass extinction.
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