asteroid 1000Km diameter hit the atmosphere

[Baron von Richthofen (Vaclav)]

If an asteroid about 1000Km diameter hit the atmosphere at about 100KmH at 90 degrees, straight down at the equator at the equinox from behind, pushing the earth faster in orbit
Would it push the earth into another orbit and what would the impact cause

[space oddity]

There are a number of web sites with calculators for meteorite impact damage eg www.lpl.arizona.edu/impacteffects/ They are kind of fun reading how a large asteroid such as yours would melt the earth's crust and do us humans in. Saw an interesting doco on Foxtel recently suggesting a decent sized asteroid impact in Antarctica had a contra-coup effect of causing the Siberian traps volcanic event, the possible cause of the geat dying event ~ 200-250 million years ago.
I dare say, your pet rock would well and truly wipe out most species, humans most definately, so stick your head between your legs............................... ...and kiss your a%$e goodbye

[Baron von Richthofen (Vaclav)]

Originally Posted by space oddity

There are a number of web sites with calculators for meteorite impact damage eg www.lpl.arizona.edu/impacteffects/ They are kind of fun reading how a large asteroid such as yours would melt the earth's crust and do us humans in. Saw an interesting doco on Foxtel recently suggesting a decent sized asteroid impact in Antarctica had a contra-coup effect of causing the Siberian traps volcanic event, the possible cause of the geat dying event ~ 200-250 million years ago.
I dare say, your pet rock would well and truly wipe out most species, humans most definately, so stick your head between your legs............................... ...and kiss your a%$e goodbye

Thanks for the site, crunched the figures, virtually no damage, we live, but now we can clime into space, makes Everest look small
Your Inputs:

Distance from Impact: 5000.00 km = 3105.00 miles
Projectile Diameter: 1000000.00 m = 3280000.00 ft = 621.00 miles
Projectile Density: 3000 kg/m3
Impact Velocity: 0.03 km/s = 0.02 miles/s
Impact Angle: 90 degrees
Target Density: 1000 kg/m3
Target Type: Liquid Water of depth 1000.00 meters, over typical rock.
Energy:

Energy before atmospheric entry: 7.07 x 1023 Joules = 1.69 x 108 MegaTons TNT
The average interval between impacts of this size somewhere on Earth during the last 4 billion years is 2.4 x 108years
Major Global Changes:

The Earth is not strongly disturbed by the impact and loses negligible mass.
The impact does not make a noticeable change in the Earth's rotation period or the tilt of its axis.
The impact does not shift the Earth's orbit noticeably.
Crater Dimensions:

The crater opened in the water has a diameter of 255 km = 158 miles

For the crater formed in the seafloor:
Transient Crater Diameter: 77.8 km = 48.3 miles
Transient Crater Depth: 27.5 km = 17.1 miles

Final Crater Diameter: 138 km = 85.6 miles
Final Crater Depth: 1.3 km = 0.81 miles
The crater formed is a complex crater.
At this impact velocity ( < 12 km/s), little shock melting of the target occurs.
Thermal Radiation:

At this impact velocity ( < 15 km/s), little vaporization occurs; no fireball is created, therefore, there is no thermal radiation damage.
Seismic Effects:


The major seismic shaking will arrive at approximately 1000 seconds.
Richter Scale Magnitude: 10.1 (This is greater than any earthquake in recorded history)
Mercalli Scale Intensity at a distance of 5000 km:
III. Felt quite noticeably by persons indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings. Many people do not recognize it as an earthquake. Standing motor cars may rock slightly. Vibrations similar to the passing of a truck.

IV. Felt indoors by many, outdoors by few during the day. At night, some awakened. Dishes, windows, doors disturbed; walls make cracking sound. Sensation like heavy truck striking building. Standing motor cars rocked noticeably.

Ejecta:

The ejecta will arrive approximately 1570 seconds after the impact.
At your position the ejecta arrives in scattered fragments
Average Ejecta Thickness: 2.62 mm = 0.103 inches
Mean Fragment Diameter: 29.6 micrometers = 1.17 1/1000 of an inch

Air Blast:

The air blast will arrive at approximately 15200 seconds.
Peak Overpressure: 10100 Pa = 0.101 bars = 1.44 psi
Max wind velocity: 22.9 m/s = 51.2 mph
Sound Intensity: 80 dB (Loud as heavy traffic)
Damage Description:

Glass windows will shatter.

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Well the asteroid that supposedly wiped out the dinosaurs was only 10km across.

[renormalised (Carl)]

Originally Posted by AstralTraveller

Well the asteroid that supposedly wiped out the dinosaurs was only 10km across.

Yes, and it was traveling at 25km/s when it hit.

[DavidU (Dave)]

Vaclav, recalc it with a more likely 25kms.

[Baron von Richthofen (Vaclav)]

Originally Posted by DavidU

Vaclav, recalc it with a more likely 25kms.

Your Inputs:

Distance from Impact: 12000.00 km = 7452.00 miles
Projectile Diameter: 1000000.00 m = 3280000.00 ft = 621.00 miles
Projectile Density: 3000 kg/m3
Impact Velocity: 25.00 km/s = 15.53 miles/s
Impact Angle: 90 degrees
Target Density: 1000 kg/m3
Target Type: Liquid Water of depth 1000.00 meters, over typical rock.
Energy:

Energy before atmospheric entry: 4.91 x 1029 Joules = 1.17 x 1014 MegaTons TNT
The average interval between impacts of this size is longer than the Earth's age.
Such impacts could only occur during the accumulation of the Earth, between 4.5 and 4 billion years ago.
Major Global Changes:

The Earth is not strongly disturbed by the impact and loses negligible mass.
The impact does not make a noticeable change in the Earth's rotation period or the tilt of its axis.
The impact does not shift the Earth's orbit noticeably.
Crater Dimensions:

The crater opened in the water has a diameter of 4910 km = 3050 miles

For the crater formed in the seafloor:
Transient Crater Diameter: 3000 km = 1860 miles
Transient Crater Depth: 1060 km = 659 miles

Final Crater Diameter: 8540 km = 5310 miles
Final Crater Depth: 4.51 km = 2.8 miles
The final crater is replaced by a large, circular melt province.
The volume of the target melted or vaporized is 4.36e+09 km3 = 1.05e+09 miles3
Melt volume = 1.23 times the crater volume
At this size, the crater forms in its own melt pool.
Thermal Radiation:

Time for maximum radiation: 631 seconds after impact

Your position is inside the fireball.
The fireball appears 141 times larger than the sun
Thermal Exposure: 5.86 x 1011 Joules/m2
Duration of Irradiation: 205000 seconds
Radiant flux (relative to the sun): 2860

Effects of Thermal Radiation:

Clothing ignites

Much of the body suffers third degree burns

Newspaper ignites

Plywood flames

Deciduous trees ignite

Grass ignites

Seismic Effects:

The major seismic shaking will arrive at approximately 2400 seconds.
Richter Scale Magnitude: 14.0 (This is greater than any earthquake in recorded history)
Mercalli Scale Intensity at a distance of 12000 km:
IX. General panic. Damage considerable in specially designed structures; well-designed frame structures thrown out of plumb. Damage great in substantial buildings, with partial collapse. Buildings shifted off foundations. Serious damage to reservoirs. Underground pipes broken. Conspicuous cracks in ground. In alluviated areas sand and mud ejected, earthquake fountains, sand craters.

X. Most masonry and frame structures destroyed with their foundations. Some well-built wooden structures and bridges destroyed. Serious damage to dams, dikes, embankments. Large landslides. Water thrown on banks of canals, rivers, lakes, etc. Sand and mud shifted horizontally on beaches and flat land. Rails bent slightly.

Ejecta:

Little rocky ejecta reaches this site; fallout is dominated by condensed vapor from the projectile.

Air Blast:

The air blast will arrive at approximately 36400 seconds.
Peak Overpressure: 1.67e+07 Pa = 167 bars = 2380 psi
Max wind velocity: 3280 m/s = 7340 mph
Sound Intensity: 144 dB (Dangerously Loud)
Damage Description:

Multistory wall-bearing buildings will collapse.

Wood frame buildings will almost completely collapse.

Multistory steel-framed office-type buildings will suffer extreme frame distortion, incipient collapse.

Highway truss bridges will collapse.

Highway girder bridges will collapse.

Glass windows will shatter.

Cars and trucks will be largely displaced and grossly distorted and will require rebuilding before use.

Up to 90 percent of trees blown down; remainder stripped of branches and leaves.

[DavidU (Dave)]

Thanks Vaclav, that's the KYAGB asteroid.

[GrahamL]

Cars and trucks will be largely displaced and grossly distorted and will require rebuilding before use

So i'll have to walk down the shop to get bread and the paper !!!!... not good

[renormalised (Carl)]

What all this tells you is just how much energy is needed to be expended by an impacting body to do any serious damage to the planet itself, and by serious I mean to cause major changes to the body of the planet and/or its orbit/axial tilt etc.

[AstroJunk (Jonathan)]

It's just a shame that there aren't any asteroids large enough to test the theory out

[Kal (Andrew)]

If you put something of the size of mars colliding with earth, with a density of mars (at 25km/s) you get:

Major Global Changes:
The Earth is strongly disturbed by the impact, but loses little mass.
100.00 percent of the Earth is melted
The impact makes a noticeable change in the Earth's rotation period and tilt of its axis.
The impact does not shift the Earth's orbit noticeably.


This is how earths moon could have formed.

[avandonk]

Here is a video of a simulation. Be very scared!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zvCUmeoHpw

watch in high quality.


Bert

[erick (Eric)]

Australia looks intact - but something like that could ruin your whole morning!

[avandonk]

All the oceans boiled off to vapour. The continents are intact?. All life is extinguished apart from bacteria that live deep in the granite of the continents. Life will develop again but not as we know it Jim.

Bert

[erick (Eric)]

OK then - it's stuffed my afternoon as well!

[renormalised (Carl)]

Originally Posted by avandonk

All the oceans boiled off to vapour. The continents are intact?. All life is extinguished apart from bacteria that live deep in the granite of the continents. Life will develop again but not as we know it Jim.

Bert

Yep, it'll have green blood and pointy ears

[Baddad (Marty)]

Hi All,

How about my new swimming pool? They start diggin' on the 11th. I suppose that won't have any water in it either?

Damn asteroids, they're a nuisance.

Cheers Marty

[renormalised (Carl)]

Originally Posted by Baddad

Hi All,

How about my new swimming pool? They start diggin' on the 11th. I suppose that won't have any water in it either?

Damn asteroids, they're a nuisance.

Cheers Marty

Nah, just as the asteroid/comet enters the atmosphere, it'll start to melt and all the water in it will follow a trajectory straight into your newly constructed pool

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Originally Posted by renormalised

Nah, just as the asteroid/comet enters the atmosphere, it'll start to melt and all the water in it will follow a trajectory straight into your newly constructed pool

.... straight through the bottom and on for another few hundred metres.