Lecture_Assignment_2
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Seneca College *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
101
Subject
Astronomy
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
3
Uploaded by DeaconAnteater731
Tunguska Event
The Tunguska Event took place during the early 1900s. Residents in Siberia
reported that a blue-white fireball with a glowing tail descending from the sky (Blodgett.
R Ch. 14, p.564). It exploded above the Tunguska River Valley; the area was heavily
forested and populated. Calculations later showed that the explosion had the force of 10
megatons of TNT, that’s equivalent to 10 hydrogen bombs (Blodgett. R Ch. 14, p.564).
An air blast caused more than 2000 km
2
of forest to be flattened and burned. Some
witnesses reported that they were physically blown into the air and knocked
unconscious. When they woke up, they found their land covered in smoke and trees
were burning that been lasted into the ground.
This disaster tells us about life on Earth can end at any moment from a Meteor.
We are lucky that the Tunguska Event was not catastrophic because we know what
happened to the dinosaurs, mass extinction. If the asteroid had exploded over a large
city like London or Paris, many human lives would have perished.
The Chelyabinsk Meteor
The Chelyabinsk Meteor that entered the atmosphere above Russia on February
15, 2013, was small and entered the atmosphere at the speed of about 19 km and
exploding at an elevation of about 23 km (Blodgett. R Ch. 14, p.585). Blodgett (2019)
says that this object is the largest known asteroid to have entered Earth’s atmosphere
since the Tunguska Event of 1908. Approaching Earth, the Chelyabinsk meteor entered
the upper atmosphere and slowed, the atmospheric gases in front of the advancing
meteor generated heat causing the meteor to erupt as a fireball (Blodgett. R Ch. 14,
p.585). Finally, it exploded producing a shock wave that damaged more than 7,000
buildings (Blodgett. R Ch. 14, p.585). The important aspect of this event is the point at
which it exploded. It exploded higher in the atmosphere.
This disaster tells us about life on Earth is that Earth is a spot for asteroids to
enter to and can impact Earth in a big way. It exploded higher in the atmosphere, if it
were to be lower the airbursts could have caused catastrophic damage and if it were to
happen over a large, populated area, the results could be millions of deaths (Blodgett. R
Ch. 14, p.585).
Lessons we should draw from them to guide our disaster planning or our
approach the problem of global warming are:
An Early detection system:
A NEO are
Near-Earth Objects.
We have programs like NEAT (Near-Earth
Asteroid Tracking) Project. The purpose of this project is to study the size distribution
and dynamic processes associated with NEOs (Blodgett. R Ch. 14, p.583). An early
detection system can help by providing time for evaluation and response (Source:
ChatGPT). With programs like Spacewatch and NEAT, we can identify NEOs of
diameters greater than a few hundred meters at least 100 years before impact with high
certainty (Blodgett. R Ch. 14, p.589).
Public awareness:
This can help educate citizens on what they should do when an event like this
happens making them more knowledgeable and less to panic when the situation arises.
With this people can know what they need and how to protect themselves. This can
allow the impact of the event be less catastrophic for them.
Risk assessment:
By making a risk assessment we can learn more and understand how common
these events can happen. By doing this we can learn the consequences from the impact
(Blodgett. R Ch. 14, p.589) and the likelihood of major, worldwide exposure and
vulnerability. By analyzing the impact or airburst of the extra-terrestrial objects, it may
suggest how the risk may be minimized (Blodgett. R Ch. 14, p.589).
Research:
With studies showing that comets and asteroids and their interaction with planets
enables us to make predictions of when that object may come back and its size it will
come back in (Blodgett. R Ch. 14, p.589). For example, the size of the event of the
Tunguska occurs on average 1000 years (Blodgett. R Ch. 14. p.589). Research would
also enable other fields to have a say on what measures we can do for an event like
this. Fields like astronomers, geologists, and physicists (Source: ChatGPT).
References
Blodgett. R (2019). Natural hazards Earth's Processes as Hazards, Disasters, and
Catastrophes. Retrieved from: Textbook.
ChatGPT
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help