Im tired of the media showing this picture when discussing meteor strikes (page 2)

Aztec

Dumb Girl Question: WTF is that giant thing slamming into the Earth? Perhaps I should have read this thread....D'OH!

~Aztec

its an artist conception of a meteor hitting the earth. However the meteors astronomers worry about are nowhere near that size. But they always show that dumb picture whenever they talk of meteor strikes. I suppose it's simpler to show that picture than to write a brief explanation of kinetic energy for the people who say 'how could a rock only a mile across destroy a continent.'

SixofNine

yeah, but that thing isn't scheduled to hit till what, 2034? So nothing to worry about now right?

Mutz

The damage caused by the Tunguska meteor was frightening. I have some photos in one of my Astronomy books.
Meteor Crater in Arizona was caused by a meteor thought to be around 90ft in diameter and devastated the country for at least 100 miles around. As IronGland says, if something like that hit a populated area the loss of life would be colossal!

shamus

Oh great... like I'm gonna sleep tonite, LOL!

czarofmischief

I remember when I was a kid my dad dropped the scientific ideas on my little head of

a) the Big Bang with ensuing chaos

b) meteor strikes with ensuing chaos

c) how the sun worked and would run out of hydrogen and go nova someday, with, of course, ensuing chaos

I didn't sleep for weeks. Finally, he just said that Jehovah wouldn't let that happen, and it was enough for me - kind of how religion works, ain't it?

No chaos.

CZAR

Im tired of the media showing this picture when discussing meteor strikes

IronGland