how big would an asteroid be enough to anniahlate everything on earth?

Answer 1

That depends where it hits, what it's made out of, how fast it's traveling, the angle that it hits us with... etc. The current best theory on the formation of the moon involves an object the size of Mars colliding with Earth and we're still here (although that may have happened before there was life on Earth). A lot of people think that the dinosaurs died because of a meteor collision and yet it didn't annihilate everything (crocodiles were around then and are still here).

P.S. An asteroid will NEVER collide with Earth because "asteroid" is a name given to rocky objects that are in an orbit around the sun between Mars and Jupiter. Once an object leaves that orbit it's no longer called an asteroid, it's a meteoroid. (Then it's a meteor when in Earth's atmosphere and a meteorite when/if it lands.)

Answer 2

The asteroid would must be more suitable than the size of Mars to shatter the Earth aside. In Earth's early historic past, it became impacted by a Mars sized merchandise. It blew some chunks of rock off the Earth, yet turned right into a recommendations from thoroughly destroying it. The Mars sized merchandise, notwithstanding, became thoroughly obliterated. The debris left orbiting Earth formed the Moon. So an merchandise would pick to be more suitable than Mars. it isn't going that some thing interior the image voltaic equipment would get thrown off its orbit to effect the Earth both. yet when it by some means did ensue, it will be catastrophic for Earth. regardless of if it became hit on the area, it would nevertheless wipe out all life in the international. If the Earth were hit head on, it will be shattered into products. If it were hit by a glancing blow, it will be particularly knocked off its orbit, yet no longer by a recommendations and absolutely no longer flying by area like a wrecking ball.

Answer 3

The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs was rougly the size of Mt. Everest. An asteroid that size hitting a land mass would set fire to an entire continent and throw so much dust in the air that it would blot out the sun. Anything surviving would be frozen or starve to death within 6 months.

Answer 4

Anywhere from Mars-sized to Venus-sized will break the Earth, depending on speed. No more Earth. Earth don't exist anymore.

Smaller than that and the molten flying globs of Earth might rain back down together and recoalesce.


Don't worry, a 1 mile-wide asteroid is plenty to destroy civilization.

Answer 5

Here is a *great* calculator to figure out what the effects of different sized impacts on earth would be.
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/impacteffects/

This article has excellent descriptions of the effects of various impacts:
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~marcus/CollinsEtAl2005.pdf

Answer 6

it would not have to be all that big.one the size on Road island will do it.even a smaller one could end all life depending where it hit.set off volcanoes too ..but thats not the way we are gonna go

Answer 7

i think it would have to be as large as texas or half its size. by the time it would go through our atmosphere, it wouls lose bits and pieces causing a meteor shower and the size would shrink. but if its the size i said it would still be huge in order to destroy everything

Answer 8

The one I have been tracking is 10 km by its minor diameter.

oops... said too much.


nevermind

Answer 9

as big as your fist at that speed it would smash a hole in the earth. game over