Did an Asteroid Really Hit Antarctica in 2004?

  • Thread starter LURCH
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In summary: The site mentioned in the article is not the only one reporting this. I found another article that says that the object broke into pieces and that there was no impact. So I would say that the story is likely fake.
  • #1
LURCH
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OK, this is reported in the Website nkown as the "Unmuseum", and they specialise in the wierd. They've got stuff on Nesse, UFO's, etc., but they seem to have some integrity. So I'm reluctant to take their word for it, especially when the story is big enough that it should have made the news. Has anyone else heard about this?
Asteroid Hits Antarctica - According to scientists at Australia's Davis station in Antarctica, a significantly large asteroid hit Earth in September of 2004. Fortunately the impact was in an uninhabited portion of Antarctica, but if the object had slammed into a city it would have destroyed it. The asteroid was the size a bus and weighed about 1000 tons and was traveling at about 150 miles per second. Dr Andrew Klekociuk who was on duty observing the stratosphere that night got a strange signal from30 kms overhead. At first it was thought to be a problem with the equipment, but later it was determined that a asteroid had hit the ground approximately 800 miles from the station. It is thought to be the biggest asteroid to hit the Earth in the last ten years.
 
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  • #2
is there a link?
 
  • #3
http://www.unmuseum.org/soearch/over.htm

I would like to see another reference. They seem to be the only one reporting this, and I would imagine that it would have been big news last September.

It should have made a significant seismic signature! And there should have been a pretty good explosion.
 
  • #5
well i did find this link too, though
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=58431 [Broken]
So maybe it did happen
 
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  • #6
It doesn't seem too realistic to me. First off, that's more than triple the theoretical maximum impact velocity for an object in solar orbit. Second, can we really call a 5m object an "asteroid"? Playing with the impact calculator at U of Arizona, it looks like it should have been an air burst - but still, I'd think an air burst of from 0.1 to 1.0 megatons (depending on a lot of factors) would make the news. http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/impacteffects/
 
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  • #7
Ok, google is your friend. Apparently, it happened, but at least somem of the facts in that story are wrong: It didn't impact, it was an airburst. None of the sites I have found say anything about the velocity, but I doubt 150mi/sec is correct. GOOGLE
 
  • #8
russ_watters said:
...but I doubt 150mi/sec is correct.

I agree with you. It could only be traveling that fast if it came from outside the solar system. And even then, the speed is too high unless it's from the Milky Way's halo rather than the galactic plane. Asteroids should strike the top of the atmosphere with speeds in the 10's of kilometers / s, not 100's.
 
  • #9
Here's a useful link http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/news/2005-2/090605holeinone.shtml [Broken]

extract from article
Dr Klekociuk said that it was thought that the asteroid had come from what is known as the Aten group somewhere between Venus and Earth, ranging anywhere up to 46 million kms from the sun. Measuring roughly 10 metres it is the biggest body to enter Earth's atmosphere in the past decade.

Its travel time from entering Earth's atmosphere 75 kms up until it landed? Just five seconds.

Scientists believe that the asteroid's original size was close to that of a small house weighing a thousand tonnes and that if it had not broken up on entry into the atmosphere its effect on impact would have been that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
 
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  • #10

What are the possibilities that this was actually a comet with a rocky core?
 
  • #11
This really perplexes me; why wasn't it all over the news? I have long thought that a large strike in a remote region was a kind-of "best case scenario". One that would direct attention (and better funding) toward the idea of detection and collision avoidence, without costing a lot of lives. This happened twelve months ago and I had to hear about it form an email!
 
  • #12
LURCH said:
This really perplexes me; why wasn't it all over the news?!
It seems, given its size, that the chances of it actually causing damage on the surface are very low. Objects this small are (nearly) always going to be destroyed in an airburst that is (typically) sufficiently high that there will be no gross effects at or near ground level. We are (probably)taking hits of this magnitude several times a century with no fatal effect because they are high altitude airbursts.
 

What is an "Asteroid Strike in Antarctica"?

An "Asteroid Strike in Antarctica" refers to the hypothetical scenario in which an asteroid or comet collides with the continent of Antarctica, causing significant damage and potentially altering global climate patterns.

How likely is an "Asteroid Strike in Antarctica" to occur?

The likelihood of an asteroid strike in Antarctica is very low. According to NASA, the chances of a large asteroid hitting Earth in any given year are less than 0.01%. Additionally, Antarctica is a relatively small target compared to the rest of the Earth's surface, making the chances of a direct hit even lower.

What impact would an "Asteroid Strike in Antarctica" have on the environment?

An "Asteroid Strike in Antarctica" would have a significant impact on the environment. The initial impact would likely cause widespread destruction and create a large crater. The resulting dust and debris could also block out the sun, causing global cooling and potentially altering weather patterns. The impact could also lead to tsunamis, seismic activity, and changes in sea levels.

How would an "Asteroid Strike in Antarctica" affect human life?

An "Asteroid Strike in Antarctica" would have a devastating impact on human life. The initial impact would likely destroy any human settlements in the area and cause widespread damage to infrastructure. The resulting environmental effects could also have a significant impact on global food supplies and other resources.

What measures are being taken to prevent an "Asteroid Strike in Antarctica"?

NASA and other space agencies around the world have programs in place to detect and track potentially hazardous asteroids. They also have plans for potential mitigation strategies, such as deflecting an asteroid's trajectory away from Earth. However, the vastness of space and the limitations of current technology make it challenging to fully prevent an asteroid strike.

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