Are Asteroids Outside Our Solar System and the Moon Affected by Impact Tsunamis?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the observations and estimations of asteroids outside our solar system, particularly in the context of the Oort Cloud, as well as the implications of asteroid impacts on the Moon and potential tsunami effects. The scope includes theoretical considerations and references to existing research.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants note that there are no direct observations of minor bodies outside our Solar System, particularly in the Oort Cloud, due to their faintness.
  • One participant mentions that the closest imaged object is Fomalhaut b, a planet orbiting its star, which is visible due to surrounding dust.
  • Another participant suggests that asteroid belts around other stars may be detectable, citing observed debris fields.
  • There are claims about the vast number of bodies in the Oort Cloud, with estimates suggesting it may contain billions of objects, potentially including Mars-sized bodies.
  • One participant questions the basis for estimates regarding the mass of the Oort Cloud, indicating a desire for clarification on the sources of such claims.
  • A participant introduces a paper discussing asteroid impact tsunamis and inquires whether the formulas presented could be scaled to apply to the Moon.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying views on the detectability of asteroids and the mass of the Oort Cloud, with no consensus reached on the estimates or implications of asteroid impacts on the Moon.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the lack of direct observational data for bodies in the Oort Cloud and the challenges in detecting faint objects. The applicability of tsunami impact formulas to the Moon remains uncertain.

mersecske
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Are there any observations or estimations about asteorids outside our solar system?
 
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mersecske said:
Are there any observations or estimations about asteorids outside our solar system?

There's no direct observations of minor bodies outside our Solar System, in fact we haven't directly observed anything in the Oort Cloud in situ they are simply too faint to be resolved even by Hubble. The closest object we have imaged is probably Formalhaut b, which is a planet of about 3 Jupiter masses orbiting its star at about 115AU, with the dust from which it is forming is still visible around the star.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/fomalhaut.html
[PLAIN]http://spacespin.org/images/articles/81131-hubble-directly-observes-planet_3.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Maybe an asteroid belt can be detected.
 
mersecske said:
Maybe an asteroid belt can be detected.

We have already observed debris fields around other stars. I have no doubt that there are many many many asteroids and other objects in our galaxy around probably every star there is.
 
There are saganesque quantities [billions and billions] of bodies in the Oort cloud. This may even include some mars-size bodies. The primordial mass from which the sun formed was pretty enormous. The total mass of the Oort cloud may rival that of the sun. Detection is a separate issue. The vast majority, as already noted, are far too dim to be observed.
 
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Chronos said:
There are saganesque quantities [billions and billions] of bodies in the Oort cloud. This may even include some mars-size bodies. The primordial mass from which the sun formed was pretty enormous. The total mass of the Oort cloud may rival that of the sun. Detection is a separate issue. The vast majority, as already noted, are far too dim to be observed.

Hmm really? where do people get an estimate like that from?
 
And what about the Moon?

For example there is a formula for the Earth in the paper:

Steven N. Ward & Erik Asphaug:
Asteroid Impact Tsunami: A probability Hazard Assessment

see section. 4

equation (28) & (29) with the given a, b parameters below and figure 10.

This formula is good for the moon scaling with its area?
 

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