Paintball Pellets As a Tool To Deflect Asteroids 153
A reader sends this quote from an article at MIT's Technology Review:
"In the event that a giant asteroid is headed toward Earth, you'd better hope that it's blindingly white. A pale asteroid would reflect sunlight — and over time, this bouncing of photons off its surface could create enough of a force to push the asteroid off its course. How might one encourage such a deflection? The answer, according to an MIT graduate student: with a volley or two of space-launched paintballs. Sung Wook Paek, a graduate student in MIT's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, says if timed just right, pellets full of paint powder, launched in two rounds from a spacecraft at relatively close distance, would cover the front and back of an asteroid, more than doubling its reflectivity, or albedo. The initial force from the pellets would bump an asteroid off course; over time, the sun's photons would deflect the asteroid even more."
Too tenuous (Score:5, Funny)
That's a long shot plan right there.
I think sending Bruce Willis with a thermonuclear device and a boatload of family drama might work even better.
Re:Of course, if it doesn't work (Score:2, Funny)
Not really. Its just white paint, seems kind of boring.
Steve Jobs just turned twice in his grave.
Re:Too tenuous (Score:5, Funny)
Spaceballs ?
Asteroid deflectors will get FREE advertising! (Score:4, Funny)
Imagine your company logo emblazoned across the surface of an asteroid.
Not only will your company have done something great for all mankind, but mankind will be reminded of it in perpetuity.
First we paint the whole thing white and then get computer controlled pain ball guns to splatter, like an inkjet printer, your company's logo all over the asteroid.
Think of watching a Papa John's ad every time you look up in the sky and having to say a little prayer that you can actually enjoy a large nutritious Papa John's pizza instead of having been reduced to a smokin' crater . :-)