Friday, 27 March 2009

How to save Earth from an asteroid impact

Scientists have used a virtual model to investigate options to save the Earth from an asteroid impact.

According to a report in New Scientist, the model was developed by a team led by David Dearborn of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, which modelled the impact of a nuclear explosion on an asteroid's trajectory.

It is based on the option of gently nudging the asteroid away from Earth without breaking it apart, either by exploding a nuclear device at a distance or zapping it with high-powered lasers.

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