?can you blow up an asteroid with a bomb
!In reality, it all depends on its size
If you're a science fiction fan, you may have already seen the 1998 film Armageddon with Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck.
One thing is certain! Even the most powerful atomic bomb could not have scared the immense asteroid 1,000 km in diameter which threatened the Earth in this feature film.
Luckily, we don't have to worry too much because no object of this size has been spotted yet. At least for now!
When they are smaller, for example the size of a large football stadium, or around 120 m long. A nuclear bomb could completely pulverize the asteroid. The thing is, it wouldn’t be to our advantage either. So certainly, the Earth would not be hit by a devastating asteroid. We wouldn't end up like the Tyrannosaurus! But the explosion caused by the bomb would cause a whole bunch of pieces..... Smaller..... But still dangerous for our heads.
!So this is not a very good idea
Deflect the Asteroid from its trajectory without making it explode
The fear of an asteroid hitting Earth has been around for a very long time. And this disaster scenario is very popular in cinema. The film Don't Look Up: Cosmic Denial features two astronomers who prepare to face the destruction of the Earth when they discover that they only have 6 months left to live.
?So what should we do if an asteroid is hurtling towards us? Fortunately, our friends, the scientists, have looked into the question. Several solutions are being considered. And each time, the objective is the same. You have to deviate it from its trajectory without making it explode.
To do this, thrusters could be sent into space to move it little by little. But for this technique to be effective, you would have to do it in advance. What if the asteroid happened to land without warning? You should either ask Bruce Willis for help. Or scientists could send objects at very high speed to jostle it.
Another solution is to trigger a controlled explosion above the surface to divert it without destroying it.
Return to the Dart mission
Well, of course, we don't have to wait for an asteroid to hurtle towards Earth to find out if these solutions work. And NASA understood that well.
In 2021, the American company begins the Dart mission. This mission consists of launching a vehicle towards the asteroid Dimorphos. Don't panic, this asteroid is located more than 10 million kilometers from our planet. It orbits a more massive asteroid, named Didymos. The goal was therefore to modify the trajectory of Dimorphos.
As a result, it was a real success! The trajectory of the small asteroid has indeed been modified.
The success of this test suggests that this technique could be effective in protecting the Earth from a possible threatening object.
Source: websites