Astronomy & Space - December 2006

There are a couple of films I've watched recently where astronauts land on a comet/asteroid to detonate nukes to prevent a fatal collision with the earth. I was wondering about the science of that -

1) Is it possible to build a ship fast enough to catch up with one of these rocks?
2) How would you realistically land it even if you could build one fast enough?
3) Wouldn't you get sucked off the surface immediately after you landed? Or does the asteroid/comet have its own atmosphere that shields you from the wind you would expect to be generated as the rock hurtles through space?

Stupid question I know but I'd be interested to hear the answer!

2006-12-03 19:30:24 · 7 answers · asked by baconeggsandbeans 2

Where does the Unoverse begin and where does it end?

2006-12-03 19:29:02 · 4 answers · asked by KRSNA 1

2006-12-03 19:23:34 · 9 answers · asked by hamid s 1

With the threat of an asteroid collision wiping us out one day, will we need to colonise other planets to survive? And will we actually do so? Should we?

2006-12-03 19:10:46 · 11 answers · asked by Paranormal I 3

clockwise or anti?

2006-12-03 19:09:58 · 5 answers · asked by chua77 1

they say that the prophet mohammad asked allah for this miracle (moonsplitting) in order to prove his divinity to "infadels" or non-blievers, right? okay, so how come this sighting was never recorded/documented by any other ancient civilization...south/central americans, romans, khmers...etc????
plus, are there any scientific evidence to support such claim?

2006-12-03 19:02:58 · 8 answers · asked by Mo 1

i was just wondering if the universe may take on a common center of mass, such that spae-time is bent around it causing it to be closed like a giant sphere. Furthermore could this somehow show how space between massive objects appears to expand?

2006-12-03 18:20:11 · 2 answers · asked by william k 2

2006-12-03 18:06:52 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous

are we rotating around some greater magenetic force...like a "super sun?"

2006-12-03 17:50:43 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous

questions about planets

2006-12-03 17:13:32 · 4 answers · asked by truism 1

questions about planets

2006-12-03 17:12:18 · 6 answers · asked by truism 1

questions about planets

2006-12-03 17:08:25 · 5 answers · asked by badfish 1

questions about planets

2006-12-03 17:04:46 · 10 answers · asked by badfish 1

2006-12-03 16:59:14 · 17 answers · asked by san_ranjan9 1

2006-12-03 16:58:33 · 6 answers · asked by san_ranjan9 1

yet we measure time clockwise?

2006-12-03 16:53:41 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous

Explain why!

2006-12-03 16:39:03 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous

WHY on an axis?

2006-12-03 16:23:16 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous

2006-12-03 16:16:33 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous

2006-12-03 16:14:44 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous

Why is it that man is so hooked on speed? as in it would take so long at the speed of light to get from here to there. and by that way of thinking, a ship from any other system could not get to earth in there life time, or us getting to them. speed is some thing that works ( to a point ) on a planet but should not be used for long space travel. you only use a small part of your brain as of yet. but what if you found a way to use all, or mose of it. you would now know how to travel at the speed of thought. as in you are here, you think you are there, and now you are there. no speed came into it at all. people are looking for intelligent life out there, and yes there would be some. but first try to find intelligent life on this earth. good luck with that, there is none. just because you can make words, walk upright, and play with your self; dont make you intelligent.....intelligent people dont make war, dont kill, dont let people starve, and dont steal............look around you........

2006-12-03 16:10:56 · 5 answers · asked by old_cola 1

examples are....

asteroid
mooncrash
alien invashion
global warming
sun too powerfull
sun explodes
meteor
comet strikes

2006-12-03 15:56:46 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous

In this video, former Chief Astronomer of the US Naval Observatory Tom Van Flandern, Ph.D. shows new pictures of what appears to be artificial structures on mars taken by the Mars Global Surveyer. Again the link is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u-20g7Bwdw

2006-12-03 15:53:51 · 3 answers · asked by jrels2 2

2006-12-03 15:35:58 · 7 answers · asked by i can fly 2

I'm looking for a "picture of the entire universe". A sort of outside view. I expect anything that would satisfy me would (duh) have to be an artist's rendering or some sort of computer graphic, instead of an actual photo. But, bonus points would be something accompanied with an explanation of why it's a scientifically accurate representation.

2006-12-03 15:22:44 · 6 answers · asked by arantius 1

if you were in a deep well durning the daylight hours and you looked up can you indeed see the stars?

2006-12-03 15:20:15 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous

2006-12-03 15:07:43 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous

2006-12-03 14:43:50 · 11 answers · asked by Israel O 1

Is the Hubble Space Telescope able to zoom into the moon's surface and photograph the footprints left by Neil Armstrong of Apollo 11? Since there is no atmosphere, wind, rain or erosion on the moon the footprints should be undisturbed.

Has the Hubble ever photographed the launch platforms of the Lunar Excursion Modules, US Flags, Lunar Rover of Apollo 15 or other traces left by the astronauts? Are any photos available? Am I wrong to assume this is possible since the Hubble is able to clearly pinpoint objects much farther than the moon?

.

2006-12-03 14:07:52 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous

But does the Big Bang Theory not predict that all those distant stars to be in our back yard 15 billion years ago?

2006-12-03 14:04:40 · 6 answers · asked by Willem V 3