what happens when an asteroid hits the earth?

Answer 1

That's when you say: "beam me up, scotty".

Answer 2

There was actually a program on the Discovery Channel about what would happen. When the asteroid has hit the Earth, the winds would pick up to tornado speed destroying everything in it's path. So it would probably mimic a tornado, but without a cyclone.

Answer 3

Depends on the size. Also where it hits. Like in the movie "Deep Impact," if it was really big and hit an ocean, then there would be a huge tidal wave. If a big asteroid hit land, it would cause a ring of fire to go around the planet.

Answer 4

One great example of this is the K-T event, famous for killing the Dinosaurs. The K-T event is a mass extinction, the 2nd largest ever (to the Permo-Triassic) is famous for the large bolide (extraterrestrial object) impact that occured off the Yucatan, creating the Chixulub crater. Glass from the crater is dated to 64.98 +/- .01 million years ago.

This event caused global devistation, evidenced by:
1) Differing Sr ratios from global wildfires
2) Microdiamonds from fried Carbon
3) Tsunami deposits found all over the southeast US
4) Stishovite (a variety of quartz which forms in extreme pressures)
5) Worldwide Iridium anomaly. Ir is usually found abundantly in space, but it is very rare on earth. All over the world, at the K-T layer, the amount of Ir is much higher than normal.

It is theorized that the impact created magnitude 12 earthquakes and blocked the sun for as long as 9 weeks.

Answer 5

i hope it's superman inside that asteroid

Answer 6

Laughing on the space station.

Answer 7

I don't think we will be able to live to tell the tale of it! I sure hope not anyway.

Answer 8

depends on its size and where it lands

Answer 9

there is a movie on youtube about just that:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=oB3G0rvCIJc