General science thread

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NASA scientists have concluded that even a nuclear bomb wouldn't be able to stop a giant asteroid from destroying a huge chunk of earth.

In a simulated exercise, US and European scientists were told they had six months to come up with a lifesaving plan to stop a massive rock smashing into earth that had been spotted 35 million miles away.

The study was conducted over the course of four days, from April 26 through April 29, and astronomers used radar systems, data imaging and other technologies like the world's largest telescope.

Scientists determined that six months is not enough time to prepare a spacecraft to smash into the asteroid and that a nuclear bomb - like in the film Armageddon - would not take the monster space rock down.

Quote: rxwine

Well, that's just dandy.

Quote: Pacomartin

the odds of humans have to deal with a large asteroid headed towards earth in the next 1,000 years are fairly low.

Quote: link

there is a notorious 'blind spot' that telescopes on Earth can never peer into. It is the region of space inside Earth's orbit, towards the Sun

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Tiny tardigrades, aka water bears, are among the hardiest animals we know of. The microscopic wonders are able to survive extreme temperatures and the vacuum of space.

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The results showed that they could survive impacts at speeds up to almost a kilometer per second (2,000 miles per hour) and shock pressures up to 1.14 gigapascals.

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With enough training, most humans can learn how to echolocate, using their tongue to make clicking sounds, and interpreting the sounds of the echoes that come back, reflected from the surrounding environment.

In as few as 10 weeks, researchers were able to teach participants how to navigate obstacles and recognize the size and orientation of objects using the rebounding calls of their clicks. The experiment involved 12 participants who'd been diagnosed as legally blind during their childhood, and 14 sighted people.

Echolocation is a skill we usually associate with animals such as bats and whales, but some blind humans also use the echoes of their own sounds to detect obstacles and their outlines. Some use the tapping of a cane or the snapping of their fingers to make the necessary noise, while others use their mouths to make a clicking sound.

Despite how useful this skill can be, very few blind people are currently taught how to do it. Expert echolocators have been trying to spread the word for years now, and this new study suggests a simple training schedule is all that's needed.

"I cannot think of any other work with blind participants that has had such enthusiastic feedback," says psychologist Lore Thaler from Durham University in the UK.

Over the course of 20 training sessions, which were about 2 to 3 hours long, researchers found that blind and sighted participants, both old and young, all improved considerably at click-based echolocation.

For weeks, participants were trained to navigate virtual mazes – corridors arranged in T-intersections, U bends, and zig-zags – and identify the size and orientation of objects using mouth clicks.

In the final two sessions, participants had their new navigation skills tested in a virtual maze they'd never tackled before. Even while blinded in this unknown environment, collisions were fewer than they had been at the start of the program.

Clearly, the echoes of their own clicks were helping people navigate the course with greater ease than before

Quote: rxwine

On April 13, 2029 a 1,100ft wide asteroid will pass closer to Earth than some of our orbiting satellites. That's pretty damn close.

Quote: petroglyph

Quick, there is time to start a religion and get a bunch of followers donating their entire net worth.