The Universe – Asteroid Attack

Today on Far Future Horizons we present another episode of the highly acclaimed documentary series The Universe ~ Asteroid Attack.

Is an Urban Tunguska Close at Hand?

 

In the wake of the meteorite explosion the Russian city of Chelyabinsk people two years ago today on Friday February 15^th, 2013, we ask the question: Is Urban Tunguska Close at Hand?

The meteorite exploded with thirty times the explosive yield of the atomic bomb that destroyed the Japanese city of Hiroshima and injured about 1,100 people.

A possible disaster scenario where a sizable asteroid or meteorite explodes over or impacts a major urban center can no longer be treated as mere science fiction whimsy.

The Chelyabinsk  Event was a relatively minor incident. Next time we may not be so lucky.

Disaster: This graphic shows the sequence of events which led to the meteor crashing in Russia (the Daily Mail)

According to the Daily Mail:

Fireball from outer space: 1,000 injured as 40-ton meteor travelling at 33,000mph explodes over a terrified town

• Large object flashed across the sky at 9.20am local time
• Pictures show a streak of smoke followed by several bright blasts of flames
• 82 of the injured are children and two are in intensive care
• Landed in a lake near Chebarkul, a neighbouring town
• 6,000 square feet of a roof at a zinc factory collapsed
• One local said it 'was like a scene from the Armageddon movie'

 

Arthur C Clarke’s Mysterious World - The Great Siberian Explosion

Today on Far Future Horizons we would like to offer for your viewing pleasure the following episode from Arthur C Clarke’s Mysterious World - The Great Siberian Explosion.

This episode concerns the Tunguska impact event of June 30th, 1908 and first aired on British television on October 14th , 1980 and has to rank as one of my all time favourites alongside Carl Sagan's Cosmos Episode 4: "Heaven and Hell" which we presented yesterday.

Carl Sagan's Cosmos - "Heaven and Hell"

Today on Far Future Horizons we present the fourth episode of Carl Sagan's landmark television series Cosmos: "Heaven and Hell". In fact, of all the thirteen episodes this has to rank as one of my most favourite . 

It was from this episode that I first learned about the eyewitness account of a lunar impact seen by Canterbury monks on June 18, 1178 which some researchers believe resulted in the formation of crater Giordano Bruno. This event was recorded in the chronicle of Gervase. Another topic covered in this episode was the Tunguska explosion of June 30, 1908. Some researches such as Bill Napier and Victor Clube have linked these two events together as being a by-product of the Beta Taurid meteor shower; both events coincided with a peak in that shower.

Stopping the Next Celestial Armageddon

Humanity faces a celestial Sword of Damocles. We can no longer go about our humdrum worldly concerns and abandon any attention to the heavens and the dangers that lurk in the local celestial neighbourhood. We face the celestial equivalent of a 9/11 writ large. Humanity can no longer ignore the objective reality that its long term survival and existence are imperilled.



It sounds like a Hollywood blockbuster: a deadly asteroid is on a collision course with Earth. But in reality, it's only a matter of time before a giant space rock threatens to wipe out civilization. An asteroid took out the dinosaurs sixty-five million years ago. Are we next? This episode analyzes the threat and explores the many ways--from a nuclear bomb to ingenious new technology--that experts are proposing to stop Armageddon. Humanity faces an Extraterrestrial Imperative- we either become a spacefaring civilization or face the fate of the dinosaurs.