DEEP IMPACTCould an asteroid hit Earth? The seven terrifying ways that asteroids could wipe out life on our planet revealed
Now scientists have explained exactly how an asteroid could kill people unfortunate enough to be trapped beneath one if - or when - when it breaks on Earth.
What are the seven different ways in which asteroids could kill us?
Researchers at the University of Southampton have set seven different risks posed by an asteroid collision.
They published an article discussing "impact effects of asteroids and their immediate risks for human populations" on the same day an asteroid the size of the Rock of Gibraltar uncomfortably expanded near Earth.
The team used computer simulations to assess the risk of 50,000 different asteroid sizes.
Their study found that asteroids caused much more death and destruction if they crashed to the ground or exploded in the sky over a land mass in an "air strike", instead of crashing into the sea and causing a tsunami.
"The analysis of the average number of victims per [asteroid] impactor shows that there is a significant difference in the expected loss for surface and air impacts and that the average impact on the earth is an order of magnitude more dangerous than one over the water, "the team wrote.
As expected, the researchers also found that larger asteroids pose more of a risk than smaller ones.
However, space rocks that were smaller than about 40 meters in diameter were more likely to explode in an airburst, putting a different type of risk to the people below.
They establish seven different ways in which space rocks could cause "loss of life", which we have listed below.
Gust of wind
Wind generated when an asteroid breaks on Earth or explode in an air blast is the "most critical impact effect."
Any burst caused by an asteroid impact is likely to be so severe that it "dislocates bodies and objects to cause damage."
The wind caused by a large space rock would pull humans off their limbs and hit buildings above them.
An asteroid has to be only 18 meters wide to cause victims this way, the researchers found.
Too much pressure
This is the scientific term for the shock wave caused when an asteroid explodes into the air or crashes into the ground or sea.
It was this effect that caused injuries when a meteorite exploded in the sky over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk.
The researchers wrote: "Most of the damage and injuries during that event were caused by the aerodynamic shock that knocked people to the ground and damaged structures and windows, causing indirect injuries when flying glass fragments."
Overpressure can also "break internal organs".
If the asteroid is large enough, the overpressure could effectively pulp the inner victims.
Thermal radiation
If an asteroid hits our planet, it will cause a massive fireball.
The effects of this are likely to be devastating to anyone caught out in the open field when impact occurs.
If asteroids strike a city or explode above it, buildings are likely to catch fire - with larger asteroids that cause fireballs that are miles apart.
While humans could take refuge from fireballs caused by smaller spatial rocks by taking refuge in basements, the risks posed by a larger object are so great that cities would have to be evacuated if there was a risk of asteroid impact.
Crater
When an object hits a planet, it usually causes a massive crater.
Sometimes the force is so great that the asteroid undoes instantly.
However, the risk is likely to be very small unless you are unlucky enough to be in the exact area where the crater has formed.
But by the time the crater occurred, you probably would have been burned by overpressure or cremated in a fireball.
For more detail follow this link
https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/3372517/scientists-reveal-the-seven-ways-an-asteroid-could-kill-humans-if-it-smashed-into-earth/
What are the seven different ways in which asteroids could kill us?
Researchers at the University of Southampton have set seven different risks posed by an asteroid collision.
They published an article discussing "impact effects of asteroids and their immediate risks for human populations" on the same day an asteroid the size of the Rock of Gibraltar uncomfortably expanded near Earth.
The team used computer simulations to assess the risk of 50,000 different asteroid sizes.
Their study found that asteroids caused much more death and destruction if they crashed to the ground or exploded in the sky over a land mass in an "air strike", instead of crashing into the sea and causing a tsunami.
"The analysis of the average number of victims per [asteroid] impactor shows that there is a significant difference in the expected loss for surface and air impacts and that the average impact on the earth is an order of magnitude more dangerous than one over the water, "the team wrote.
As expected, the researchers also found that larger asteroids pose more of a risk than smaller ones.
However, space rocks that were smaller than about 40 meters in diameter were more likely to explode in an airburst, putting a different type of risk to the people below.
They establish seven different ways in which space rocks could cause "loss of life", which we have listed below.
Gust of wind
Wind generated when an asteroid breaks on Earth or explode in an air blast is the "most critical impact effect."
Any burst caused by an asteroid impact is likely to be so severe that it "dislocates bodies and objects to cause damage."
The wind caused by a large space rock would pull humans off their limbs and hit buildings above them.
An asteroid has to be only 18 meters wide to cause victims this way, the researchers found.
Too much pressure
This is the scientific term for the shock wave caused when an asteroid explodes into the air or crashes into the ground or sea.
It was this effect that caused injuries when a meteorite exploded in the sky over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk.
The researchers wrote: "Most of the damage and injuries during that event were caused by the aerodynamic shock that knocked people to the ground and damaged structures and windows, causing indirect injuries when flying glass fragments."
Overpressure can also "break internal organs".
If the asteroid is large enough, the overpressure could effectively pulp the inner victims.
Thermal radiation
If an asteroid hits our planet, it will cause a massive fireball.
The effects of this are likely to be devastating to anyone caught out in the open field when impact occurs.
If asteroids strike a city or explode above it, buildings are likely to catch fire - with larger asteroids that cause fireballs that are miles apart.
While humans could take refuge from fireballs caused by smaller spatial rocks by taking refuge in basements, the risks posed by a larger object are so great that cities would have to be evacuated if there was a risk of asteroid impact.
Crater
When an object hits a planet, it usually causes a massive crater.
Sometimes the force is so great that the asteroid undoes instantly.
However, the risk is likely to be very small unless you are unlucky enough to be in the exact area where the crater has formed.
But by the time the crater occurred, you probably would have been burned by overpressure or cremated in a fireball.
For more detail follow this link
https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/3372517/scientists-reveal-the-seven-ways-an-asteroid-could-kill-humans-if-it-smashed-into-earth/
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