The Effects an Asteroid Could Potentially Have on Earth
11/08/2017 03:13 pm EST
Air Burst
Researchers found asteroids had the potential to cause more death and destruction if smashed into the ground or exploded in the sky above a land mass. Known as an "air burst," the asteroid would also bring a grave outcome had it crashed into the sea, causing a tsunami.
"The analysis of average casualty numbers per impactor [asteroid] shows that there is a significant difference in expected loss for airburst and surface impacts and that the average impact over land is an order of magnitude more dangerous than one over water," the team wrote.
They also added that larger asteroids pose more of a risk than smaller ones.
Thermal radiation
The study adds that if an asteroid were to smash into our planet, it would create a massive fireball. The effect of this happening would also devastate populations out in the open when impact hits.
In the possibility that it hits a city or explodes over it, buildings would most likely set ablaze, with larger asteroids causing mile-wide fireballs after impact. Mankind could avoid fireballs and thermal radiation if they are sheltered in basements, but those in big cities would need to be evacuated in risk of asteroid impact.
Ejecta
We've seen it happen in plenty of movies and know that when an object hits a planet, it creates massive craters. But scientists note that between the process of cratering, the asteroid can also eject a huge amount of rocks and debris in the air.
These fragments become red hot, meaning they can start fires even after a fireball has died down. If an asteroid is large enough, it could also send material flying into the atmosphere that would block out the sun, causing plants to die and the Earth to slowly starve.
Windblast
The winds generated when an asteroid were to hypothetically smash into Earth or blow up in an airburst could create the "most critical impact effect." The study notes that any gusts caused by the asteroid impact would likely be so severe they "dislocate bodies and objects to cause harm."
The researchers found an asteroid would need to be an estimated 60 feet wide to cause losses in such manner.
Overpressure
Noted as the scientific term for the shockwave caused when an asteroid explodes in air or crashes into the ground or sea, overpressure has been seen once before in our time, causing great damage to its population. When a meteor exploded in the sky above the Russian town of Chelyabinsk in 2013, most of the damage and injuries during that event were caused by aerodynamic shock, knocking people to the ground, damaging structures and windows; causing indirect injuries.
Scientists note in the new study that overpressure can get so bad, it can also "rupture internal organs." If the asteroid was also large enough, the overpressure would effectively "pulp" the insides of victims.
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