Doomed - just two hours to live apparently

[Palfrem]

BBC News - Nasa satellite UARS nearing Earth 'could land anywhere'

Is anyone concerned?

 

[A210AMG]

Nope

 

[davidjpowell]

BBC News - Nasa satellite UARS nearing Earth could land anywhere

Is anyone concerned?

If it could just land on a certain garage, could save me quite a lot of dough

 

[DSM10000]

If it means not having to sit through another Big Brother series whilst SWMBO is pinning me down to the sofa with her outstretched legs and waving her feet about for a foot massage then bring it on!!

 

[LTD]

Got Pink Floyd on BBC4 for the rest of the evening.

I'd die happy.

 

[carat 3.6]

Dont worry, if it dose crash in this country some pikey will weigh it in!

 

[Deleted member 37751]

More interested in those four poor miners that have tragically lost their lives today.

 

[DSM10000]

More interested in those four poor miners that have tragically lost their lives today.

Well said sir.

 

[npuk]

How is 24th September 2 hours away?

 

[Palfrem]

We'll only have two hours notice from when they work out where it will come to earth.

 

[Howard]

Really ?

They can work out that an asteroid will or wont hit us in a thousand years time , but they can't tell us where it will come down from its decaying orbit ?

 

[Stratman]

Really ?

They can work out that an asteroid will or wont hit us in a thousand years time , but they can't tell us where it will come down from its decaying orbit ?

Maybe in Hollywood, but not in the real world.

 

[Howard]

Granted , an exaggeration , but certainly out to a hundred years ish ...

Current Impact Risks

You're telling me that a satellite that is going to come down in 5 days , they can't work that out ?

 

[Palfrem]

No Howard, not me. That bunch of useless amateurs at NASA apparently

 

[NW_Merc]

Maybe in Hollywood, but not in the real world.

Come on, isn't Morgan Freeman President in the future. I'm sure everything will be fine

 

[Stratman]

When an asteroid has had its track calculated with sufficient accuracy to determine it will impact the Earth, the point and time at which the two tracks intersect can be very accurately predicted. Knowing the time also means knowing which bit of the Earth will be facing the space peril, and the impact point can be reasonably accurately determined.

It's different for an object in orbit around the Earth. Because the atmosphere doesn't suddenly stop and become 'Space' but gradually becomes less and less dense the further up we go, all satellites experience atmospheric drag. Those in low-earth orbits (a few hundred miles) experience much more drag than the geostationary variety (a little over 22,000 miles). This drag lowers their kinetic energy so they lose altitude. This process takes decades, but the lower they drop the faster they lose energy which then increases the drag as the atmosphere is denser lower down and so it accelerates the process. Calculating exactly where a satellite so affected will impact is like trying to predict (not guess, but predict) where a roulette ball will fall.

 

[Howard]

We should have a sweepstake ...

I'm going to say Miami

 

[artyman]

Just think of it as another marketing opportunity for the "No win you lose Insurance claim fraternity"

 

[LTD]

So you cannot keep it if it lands on your property or if you find it as it's deemed US property.

I hope it hits my house when I'm out. I'll sue them for millions.

 

[PJH]

This satalite is 5 tonnes, Skylab was 77 tonnes. Could still make a big splash.