National Geographic Asteroids Deadly Impact

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00:00:04 "Asteroid: Deadly Impact"
00:00:08 When he first came to the high desert,
00:00:10 Gene Shoemaker wondered
00:00:14 Was the West all explored,
00:00:18 mysteries solved?
00:00:21 But geologists are taught that truth
00:00:26 Step by step he pressed the Earth
00:00:31 What Gene Shoemaker found
00:00:36 Planet Earth not nearly as safe as
00:01:07 It's like being in a hail of bullets
00:01:29 They are bullets.
00:01:46 These things have hit
00:01:49 they will hit the Earth in the future.
00:01:54 It will produce a
00:01:56 all other known natural disasters
00:02:00 Before Gene Shoemaker,
00:02:05 One of the most powerful forces
00:02:09 and perhaps the
00:02:13 This is the story of impact!
00:03:13 March 23, 1993:
00:03:18 Great telescopes around the world
00:03:26 They were peering far into space
00:03:29 of the Big Bang at
00:03:41 But at one tiny telescope on a
00:03:46 three old friends were rummaging in a
00:03:51 Five, four, three, two, one, I'm on...
00:04:02 Gene Shoemaker, geologist,
00:04:05 was looking for rocks
00:04:11 That night he and his team
00:04:15 a portent of another kind of Big Bang.
00:04:20 Comet Shoemaker Levy 9 first appeared
00:04:26 It grew into a blazing streak of light
00:04:29 By the time it smashed into Jupiter
00:04:31 every major telescope
00:04:38 The impact unleashed fiery plumes
00:04:43 And it raised a terrifying question
00:04:49 And what if it did?
00:04:51 When we get to something in the
00:04:54 hitting the Earth, it'll produce a
00:04:58 known natural disasters,
00:05:02 In fact, the energy delivered
00:05:02 would be like taking all of
00:05:08 putting them all in one pile
00:05:11 actually, it'd be a little bit
00:05:17 Once, scientists had said
00:05:21 Now many were shocked;
00:05:30 If something sneaks up on us then
00:05:34 In fact, today, the most likely
00:05:39 The next impact of a mile-sized object
00:05:41 will probably happen without
00:05:46 The first thing you will know is
00:05:49 and see the plume of fire
00:06:06 He'd been taught cosmic collisions
00:06:13 But Gene Shoemaker likes to make up
00:06:18 It was a path that I personally
00:06:22 I had to teach myself that the,
00:06:25 if, if one really pursues
00:06:27 the world is telling us that big
00:06:33 What the world told Gene it said most
00:06:45 The gaping hole in the Arizona desert,
00:06:48 nearly a mile wide,
00:06:52 catastrophe falling from the sky
00:07:02 There were similar craters
00:07:05 But most geologists said they were the
00:07:09 formed over eons of time by constant,
00:07:16 Nothing this big happened
00:07:24 Fiery rocks falling from the sky have
00:07:26 long been believed to predict disaster
00:07:32 Meteorites have been feared as omens
00:07:34 and cherished as
00:07:39 For thousands of years they were our
00:07:43 mysterious messengers from space.
00:07:56 The intrigue they held for
00:07:59 still captivates modern scientists.
00:08:02 It was inside a meteorite - a Martian
00:08:07 that researchers discovered the most
00:08:11 of life beyond the Earth.
00:08:19 Meteorites are chunks broken
00:08:23 When they crash through Earth's
00:08:27 So even big ones,
00:08:31 usually don't cause
00:08:39 Still, if you or your house happen to
00:08:44 repairs will be necessary.
00:08:56 Tons of meteorites rain
00:08:59 most smaller than a pea
00:09:06 This fireball was seen
00:09:08 by thousands of people along
00:09:12 Many were attending high school
00:09:15 and some had brought
00:09:20 A piece of the meteorite touched down
00:09:24 and cratered Michelle Knapp's
00:09:28 I was sitting in my house watching TV
00:09:32 I heard this loud noise,
00:09:34 It was a chunk of stone
00:09:37 about the size of a football.
00:09:40 They told me the rock was estimated at
00:09:43 about as old as the Earth itself
00:09:48 The Peekskill meteorite did make
00:09:51 but like most meteorites,
00:09:56 In 1972, a rock the size of a bus
00:10:02 in daylight and was filmed by a
00:10:07 There was no impact, confirming
00:10:11 that Earth's atmosphere would
00:10:15 or break them into
00:10:19 What was it, then, that violently shook
00:10:26 A blinding fireball exploded over a
00:10:31 As far away as England an eerie
00:10:37 Two decades passed before scientists
00:10:41 to find the site
00:10:46 It was an arduous trip
00:10:50 but the scientists knew they had
00:10:53 the staggering devastation on the
00:10:58 Over hundreds of square miles
00:11:01 the forest lay flattened
00:11:05 The scientists suspected the
00:11:08 by a huge meteorite, an asteroid.
00:11:12 They set out to unearth it.
00:11:14 Long months spent draining the swamps
00:11:17 and digging into the
00:11:22 For years to come,
00:11:23 Tunguska would remain one of the
00:11:28 At about the same time,
00:11:32 a similar mystery haunted this
00:11:38 In the early 1900s Daniel Barringer,
00:11:43 found little chunks of
00:11:46 He drilled the crater floor in
00:11:50 but came up empty handed
00:11:54 Geologists weren't surprised,
00:11:57 a young Gene Shoemaker was intrigued:
00:12:04 It did seem like a
00:12:09 It appeared as though the ground
00:12:15 Massive beds of rock
00:12:18 and thrust violently into the air.
00:12:25 The rim was strewn with giant
00:12:28 that could only have come
00:12:31 flying hundreds of feet in the air.
00:12:36 But like all geologists,
00:12:39 the most dramatic landscapes took
00:12:43 Meteor Crater could not
00:12:53 People say, Ah, yes, meteorites
00:12:55 We accept that.
00:12:56 A chunk that big - I accept that
00:12:59 But it was a, it was a,
00:13:02 fist-sized stone to a mountain,
00:13:05 and, and have a mountain
00:13:09 As an undergraduate student,
00:13:13 It wasn't part of geology at that time
00:13:17 Geologists are the kind of
00:13:19 I'd like to see what the process is.
00:13:21 I'd like to see it happen then I'd
00:13:26 Gene Shoemaker was one geologist
00:13:30 lead him to question the fundamental
00:13:35 He was in his twenties
00:13:37 at the top secret Nevada test site.
00:13:41 Here he witnessed a new mechanism
00:13:53 It all takes place in utter silence,
00:14:04 BAM... and then it's followed with,
00:14:17 It's throbbing, I mean, you can feel
00:14:21 uh, and, and it's, that's a very
00:14:27 Never before had so much energy
00:14:34 Could nature do the same?
00:14:39 This crater had not taken
00:14:42 It was created in an instant.
00:14:44 And it reminded Gene
00:14:48 It was the largest crater, at the time
00:14:50 formed by a shallow,
00:14:55 and so, I could go directly from
00:15:03 My hunch was that I would go have a
00:15:06 and see what the structure was
00:15:10 thoroughly mapped and described.
00:15:12 And so I didn't know what the
00:15:15 By having mapped this first,
00:15:29 I was astounded that all of those
00:15:32 in the little nuclear crater were
00:15:37 including, right down to the
00:15:42 Around the crater Gene found
00:15:46 rock that had been melted
00:15:49 he'd seen these too in Nevada.
00:15:52 Some rocks would reveal a newly
00:15:57 An intensely squeezed form of quartz
00:15:59 that no volcano is
00:16:04 In this microscopic sample was encoded
00:16:09 wrought by a 100-foot asteroid,
00:16:11 hurtling so fast the
00:16:17 Gene Shoemaker had found
00:16:23 It was the first conclusive proof
00:16:32 an affront to centuries of
00:16:36 and a challenge even to the
00:16:40 Dr. Susan Kieffer once studied
00:16:44 One day, Gene said I'm going to show
00:16:46 So, he grabbed a,
00:16:50 This is my favorite rifle
00:16:53 I don't want to see this rifle again,
00:16:55 Do you recognize this, Sue?
00:16:59 And then Gene told me to shoot the,
00:17:02 What happened is it just kicked...
00:17:04 The rifle came back
00:17:06 and broke my glasses
00:17:09 Haven't you ever fired a gun before?
00:17:10 And I said, No!
00:17:13 Here's Annie Oakley... with her nemesis
00:17:19 The ideas that Gene was
00:17:22 individual people uncomfortable,
00:17:24 but, at a gut level,
00:17:29 That was the battle
00:17:32 And he, I feel,
00:17:49 That's a nice lookin' crater.
00:17:56 Sue's lesson was simple
00:17:59 a relatively small object traveling
00:18:02 a huge hole upon impact,
00:18:05 almost completely disintegrate.
00:18:09 The mysteries of Tunguska
00:18:18 It came from over there,
00:18:23 You look up in the sky
00:18:28 that's being made by the asteroid
00:18:31 and it gets brighter
00:19:04 Gene's explanation of Meteor Crater
00:19:08 but the reason he studied craters
00:19:11 seemed down right crazy.
00:19:14 When he was 20 years old, more than
00:19:19 Gene had a hunch America
00:19:26 And why would you go to the Moon?
00:19:29 And who do you send to study the Moon?
00:19:35 I was going to do whatever I could do
00:19:39 when the time came to be the
00:19:46 Can you imagine any greater adventure?
00:19:50 I thought, well,
00:19:58 Oh, Gene, look, that's good.
00:20:00 Uh, I, uh, oh, look at that, I'm ready.
00:20:03 Gene dared confide his dream
00:20:06 This was, uh, 1951.
00:20:10 When we first met, I just thought that
00:20:17 That's it. His wife Caroline
00:20:20 in dreaming and scheming.
00:20:22 What attracted me to you...
00:20:25 I think it's your
00:20:27 He gets this big smile and,
00:20:29 and you know he's just full of joy and
00:20:37 Gene has a way of
00:20:43 We choose to go to the Moon.
00:20:48 In the early sixties,
00:20:49 it seemed Gene might actually
00:20:54 We choose to go to the Moon
00:20:58 not because they are easy,
00:21:00 America was going to the moon,
00:21:02 and he was already
00:21:07 There were many thousands of them on
00:21:10 Gene believed they could yield
00:21:14 of impact in shaping not only
00:21:20 The Moon is this slate
00:21:23 The record that we're
00:21:25 all of those craters that we see
00:21:27 are a record of the, of the flux,
00:21:31 uh, of the hail of bullets coming
00:21:33 both the Earth and the Moon.
00:21:36 If we want to see what a very fresh,
00:21:41 when it's first formed,
00:21:46 That guy up there.
00:21:49 didn't look at the moon that way.
00:21:52 They were pitted in a furious race;
00:21:54 what mattered to them
00:21:57 not what could be
00:22:01 There's no question that
00:22:04 indeed the astronauts themselves,
00:22:06 were not particularly interested
00:22:09 Uh, that was not their mission,
00:22:12 uh, beat the Russians to the Moon
00:22:14 and the farthest thing from
00:22:17 some science and
00:22:21 But, nevertheless,
00:22:23 uh, probably a weirdo by,
00:22:28 Gene did not give up in trying to,
00:22:32 uh, that doing geology
00:22:36 But geology on the
00:22:39 Few scientists thought Gene
00:22:42 of impact on the Earth,
00:22:45 Many believed lunar craters
00:22:49 Before Gene got to ride a rocket,
00:22:51 he took a fateful trip
00:22:56 The Shoemakers were on
00:23:00 Gene was eager to come here
00:23:03 a 15-mile wide depression
00:23:07 to be an ancient volcano.
00:23:11 Gene and Carolyn went
00:23:13 medieval town of Nordlingen
00:23:18 And there Gene came upon the largest
00:23:30 St. George's Church, 500 years old,
00:23:36 Just looking at the rock made
00:23:39 Whoa! Wait a minute. What's this?
00:23:42 I think I know what this is because
00:23:44 I've seen something like that before.
00:23:48 The walls were riddled with glass
00:23:54 Gene didn't need a microscope to know
00:23:58 He was, was thrilled beyond words and,
00:24:03 Just to go along and just admire all,
00:24:10 and the formation of a giant
00:24:13 incorporated into the cathedral
00:24:16 just a very strange and
00:24:19 and saying, Ah, yes, you know,
00:24:33 The Ries is nearly 20 times
00:24:37 It was the first big impact crater
00:24:41 which we could prove
00:24:44 and that just changed
00:24:48 This was impact on an
00:24:52 brought on by a mile-wide boulder
00:24:55 the landscape 15 million years ago.
00:25:07 Suddenly, giant circular scars of impact
00:25:16 some were 200 miles wide.
00:25:26 Now we really understood there were
00:25:29 of course, that meant those big
00:25:32 which I was also pretty sure
00:25:35 now we had a way of saying, yes,
00:25:37 the proof is here,
00:25:40 Gene had finally earned the credibility
00:25:42 to convince NASA and
00:25:46 to establish a program aimed
00:25:50 Gene was appointed to run it.
00:25:53 Dr. Shoemaker, as the man in charge of
00:25:57 what are you telling the astronauts
00:25:59 to look for when they
00:26:02 Small features of the Moon that will
00:26:07 And, of course, we also want them to
00:26:12 Gene brought the Apollo astronauts
00:26:16 to teach them geology.
00:26:18 This seemed to me like a natural place
00:26:21 who were gonna go to the Moon
00:26:24 In fact, the best place
00:26:26 You really get a feel of
00:26:28 and everyone of them wanted
00:26:30 so they wanted to have a good idea of
00:26:38 For added realism, Gene's team blasted
00:26:43 not far from his home.
00:26:47 There, he participated in the design
00:26:50 and tools used on the moon.
00:26:53 Gene's youthful dream
00:26:58 His vindication as a scientist and his
00:27:25 17 seconds and counting...
00:27:28 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9...
00:27:36 Engines on, 5, 4, 3, 2,
00:27:44 Launch commit.
00:27:45 Lift off, we have lift off
00:27:57 17, Houston, you are go for orbit,
00:28:04 Uh, no, I've, I, I'm not going
00:28:10 Just at the critical time
00:28:11 when I could have been standing at the
00:28:14 my adrenal cortex quit, my adrenal
00:28:18 and I knew that that would, uh, uh,
00:28:21 that would just knock me out
00:28:25 When you had that idea in your
00:28:29 it doesn't go away right away.
00:28:32 Gene remained with the lunar program
00:28:37 His dream of doing geology on the moon
00:28:42 his friend and protégé,
00:28:43 Dr. Jack Schmitt,
00:28:48 As Gene watched,
00:28:52 impact on the moon
00:28:56 ...job to get down and back up.
00:28:57 They just hit rocks,
00:28:58 Every rock you looked at.
00:29:00 You pick up a, a rock or look at a,
00:29:03 uh, there that's caused
00:29:07 It became clear that the dominant
00:29:15 if I go down there,
00:29:18 I was immensely pleased
00:29:22 but of course, I was wistful, too.
00:29:27 but for that failed
00:29:33 I'm getting in your back here.
00:29:37 I used to have dreams that I,
00:29:40 You know, I got to the Moon.
00:29:44 Even after, you know, for a long time.
00:29:51 I had to go do other things.
00:30:11 His feet would never leave the ground,
00:30:13 but Gene was intent on making
00:30:18 He'd found the scars of impacts
00:30:22 Now, he'd be one of the very first to
00:30:26 out there that might strike
00:30:31 It was an obscure,
00:30:34 nightlong drives to an
00:30:39 But, in time Gene found a
00:30:42 and companion for the road
00:30:45 a housewife who decided she, too,
00:31:03 For Gene, it was a journey
00:31:07 to new dreams and adventures.
00:31:14 I had some real misgivings
00:31:18 that I'm going to go to Palomar
00:31:21 all night long and observe.
00:31:26 Because I'd never stayed
00:31:29 It was kind of a surprise to me
00:31:32 that I really loved the observing.
00:31:36 I could, if I was very busy,
00:31:42 In the early morning hours
00:31:43 the Shoemakers would wend their
00:31:47 home to what was then the most
00:31:51 The 200 inch Hale was the temple
00:31:55 it was called the Big Eye,
00:31:56 and was not designed
00:32:00 In fact, before Gene came along,
00:32:02 no one here or anywhere else
00:32:05 asteroids that could hit the Earth.
00:32:09 Down the slope from the Big Eye
00:32:13 that was virtually unused.
00:32:15 The Little Eye was just
00:32:19 This is kind of suited to our,
00:32:22 a level that we,
00:32:25 and that's basically the
00:32:30 It turned out to be a perfect
00:32:38 Compared with the giant up the slope,
00:32:40 the Little Eye did not look far
00:32:45 It was ideal for patrolling the inner
00:32:52 Most astronomers saw the solar system
00:32:55 of planets orbiting the sun.
00:32:58 They paid little attention to the
00:33:02 chunks of iron and rock left over from
00:33:08 Most of them orbit harmlessly between
00:33:14 But if an asteroid veered out of
00:33:16 into one that cuts across the path
00:33:20 it would be anything but harmless.
00:33:26 Most scientists believed that
00:33:27 asteroids almost never
00:33:32 Were the Shoemakers searching
00:33:36 The answer would not come easily.
00:33:41 Asteroids look so small on film
00:33:43 that Carolyn had to look for
00:33:46 Even then, they would be almost
00:33:55 But slowly, they emerged from the dark
00:33:59 Since they're so much closer to
00:34:02 they seemed to streak through the sky.
00:34:07 In 1989, other astronomers captured
00:34:12 asteroid using a giant radar dish.
00:34:17 This huge rock was
00:34:25 Later radar images showed even more
00:34:29 mountains tumbling through space.
00:34:34 Toutatis... a giant boulder doing
00:34:39 regularly cuts across the
00:34:44 951 Gaspara
00:34:46 first of only two asteroids ever to be
00:34:50 is as large as the island
00:34:58 243 ID A is more than twice as large.
00:35:02 Like Gaspara,
00:35:05 But if it were, it could blast a hole
00:35:13 Gene didn't make it to the moon,
00:35:16 he's discovered scores
00:35:26 Between them they've found hundreds of
00:35:29 and helped transform
00:35:34 The solar system would never again
00:35:39 The harmony of the planets turned
00:35:45 What we've been able to show,
00:35:47 using this good old telescope
00:35:51 and by seh, concentrating on,
00:35:53 uh, surveying a near
00:35:56 we've been able to show
00:35:59 in its own swarm of asteroids.
00:36:02 These things will hit
00:36:05 they have hit the Earth in the past.
00:36:07 These are the Earth-crossing asteroids.
00:36:20 In the 1980s,
00:36:23 of the terrible threat impact
00:36:29 Deep beneath Mexico's Yucatan
00:36:34 made by a 100 million megaton impact.
00:36:43 It dates to the time,
00:36:46 when two thirds of all living species,
00:36:48 including the dinosaurs,
00:36:50 disappeared from the
00:36:53 On March 22nd, 1989,
00:36:56 an asteroid came within six hours
00:37:00 but was not detected until much later.
00:37:03 Other asteroids have come even closer.
00:37:06 One would have hit the Earth if it had
00:37:15 I don't think that people took the
00:37:19 of impact seriously, uh, in the early
00:37:24 Uh, first of all, it took a while
00:37:39 The news that would change everything
00:37:41 began to break on the
00:37:46 The Shoemakers and their collaborator,
00:37:49 David Levy, decided to take some
00:37:52 despite persistent clouds.
00:37:55 This was not a good night
00:37:57 much less for making
00:38:03 Five, four, three, two, one, open.
00:38:08 Open. I'm on.
00:38:10 I could hardly see the star
00:38:14 because Jupiter was so close
00:38:17 was swamping the eye piece.
00:38:21 45... plus 37, 59...
00:38:26 plus 37, 59...
00:38:34 I started to examine the film,
00:38:37 looking at all the things
00:38:39 the ghost image of Jupiter, and the spikes
00:38:44 when we've got a very bright
00:38:48 And then I started to go
00:38:54 That's a galaxy?
00:38:58 And here was this most unusual
00:39:02 And I thought, It looks like a comet.
00:39:05 It looked like a comet all right,
00:39:06 except it was a comet
00:39:09 Our films don't have enough resolution
00:39:13 are because we're covering a big area
00:39:16 actually quite tiny.
00:39:16 The team called their friend,
00:39:19 who was manning a more
00:39:22 and asked him to check their finding.
00:39:25 He promised to call back as soon as
00:39:34 Well, by now, it's about two hours
00:39:37 I decided the time had come,
00:39:40 Jim had had enough time to take a
00:39:43 and he answered the phone in a voice
00:39:47 and I said, Jim, are you okay?
00:39:51 Uhhh, yes. David,
00:39:53 the sound you heard is me trying
00:39:59 And I said, Do we have a comet?
00:40:02 Boy, do you have a comet.
00:40:04 And he started describing what he saw
00:40:10 to the two of you and every sentence:
00:40:12 It had these five tails,
00:40:16 but, he said, I think there's more.
00:40:18 And, meantime, that music, we had,
00:40:21 we had just had
00:40:24 it was playing in
00:40:26 and the Fourth Movement started
00:40:30 slow little introduction.
00:40:37 As, just as, as Jim said,
00:40:42 then the symphony went
00:40:52 And then, right at that point,
00:40:59 The comet essentially an asteroid
00:41:03 had been torn into several pieces
00:41:09 Of course the big kicker, the, the big
00:41:15 didn't arrive until
00:41:25 Here is this man looking at a
00:41:30 Your comet, with your name on it,
00:41:33 is going to collide
00:41:35 and Gene was sitting there
00:41:39 he was shaking his head and he said,
00:41:43 I'm going to see an
00:41:46 I just don't believe this.
00:41:48 Now the question is what would,
00:41:51 were we going to have a big show
00:41:53 or was it going to be something that
00:41:56 Even as Shoemaker Levy 9
00:42:00 some eminent scientists remained
00:42:02 skeptical it would make
00:42:06 Many astronomers believed the
00:42:09 the comet into its vaporous depths.
00:42:16 On July 16th, 1994,
00:42:21 was due to cross Jupiter's path,
00:42:23 scientists and reporters gathered
00:42:26 of the Hubble Space Telescope.
00:42:29 Gene found an empty office
00:42:32 distant ground-based telescopes.
00:42:35 We have heard that there have been
00:42:39 Dan? Gene Shoemaker here... fine.
00:42:41 in which a... I want to hear this...
00:42:43 uh, what we're, the question is,
00:42:48 There would be no reliable data until
00:42:50 the Hubble Team downloaded the
00:42:54 See, there's nothing in the sky...
00:43:01 And they did,
00:43:03 In the auditorium,
00:43:04 Gene had little more information
00:43:08 we should all take these reports
00:43:12 they need to be confirmed.
00:43:14 Look! Oh, my God!
00:43:18 The tiny spot on Jupiter was in fact
00:43:23 the size of the Earth.
00:43:39 Whoa! Whoa! Look!
00:43:41 We just downloaded the first
00:43:44 which I have a raw laser printer
00:43:49 Um, we can actually see
00:43:52 And I'll remind you,
00:43:55 not the brightest one,
00:43:57 so we're gonna to
00:44:18 I think we're
00:44:21 to see an event that's,
00:44:25 it's, it's once in a millennium.
00:44:31 Gene's vindication was a
00:44:34 now it arrived with
00:44:38 Few scientists have seen their ideas
00:44:46 That was one great moment in our lives.
00:44:49 And it vindicated what Gene had been
00:44:52 all these years and,
00:44:56 the SL 9 impacts spelled it out in
00:44:59 Gene, ya got it right.
00:45:02 Over the next week,
00:45:06 rained spectacular
00:45:20 If anyone had any lingering doubts
00:45:23 and that they can have
00:45:26 watching those events
00:45:50 To actually finally see an impact
00:45:54 That event finally convinced most of
00:45:59 yes, there really are large impacts,
00:46:03 but on, on the Earth, as well.
00:46:05 Could you imagine what SL 9
00:46:08 in its 21 pieces,
00:46:11 Had any one of the fragments of SL 9
00:46:15 uh, one of the bigger fragments,
00:46:17 we, we probably would have had a dark
00:46:22 in the time of an order
00:46:24 And we saw that the clouds
00:46:29 as fairly dark clouds.
00:46:29 What about even before the cloud,
00:46:32 what about the rising temperatures
00:46:35 What about before that?
00:46:36 If people knew that a fragment
00:46:40 I wonder about the mass hysteria
00:46:45 Where would you go?
00:46:46 People would say, Where can we hide?
00:46:48 What can we do?
00:47:19 You would feel as though you
00:47:32 An enormous hole has been gouged
00:47:36 then finally the sky will
00:47:40 completely black, everywhere,
00:48:04 Impacts today are a risk,
00:48:08 they're something we need to
00:48:11 If we don't learn how to protect
00:48:15 then on the long term, we are likely
00:48:20 If it happened to the dinosaurs,
00:48:32 In SL 9's wake, scientists
00:48:36 from Russia and the United States
00:48:38 met at
00:48:41 You've got fires.
00:48:45 So, we have a very complicated...
00:48:45 The topic was the end of the world.
00:48:49 Multiple mechanisms
00:48:51 You're gonna have
00:48:56 Asteroids big enough to kill a
00:48:58 human population collide with the
00:49:03 Smaller bodies, capable of
00:49:06 could hit once every
00:49:10 it's going to glow for about
00:49:12 and set everything on fire around you.
00:49:14 Then it's going to be pitch black.
00:49:16 One thing that makes the comet and
00:49:21 relative to other hazards,
00:49:23 is that it is the one hazard that is
00:49:28 of putting at risk
00:49:32 We could have any number of storms
00:49:35 and they can do
00:49:38 but they do not put the entire
00:49:43 Incredibly, impact is the one great
00:49:47 which we may be able to prevent.
00:49:48 Many of those gathered
00:49:51 were veterans of the Cold War,
00:49:53 and already knew something about
00:49:57 These bombs obviously, of course,
00:50:00 hundred times their mass in a,
00:50:08 In this case, a nuclear explosion,
00:50:13 you get a reaction...
00:50:22 If an approaching asteroid or comet
00:50:26 the scenario might
00:50:29 range rocket in the world
00:50:36 Tipped with an
00:50:38 the rocket would be detonated off
00:50:42 nudging it out of its
00:51:04 But before you launch a missile,
00:51:08 Only a fraction of large Earth-crossing
00:51:13 This may prove to be the
00:51:23 I can tell you with confidence
00:51:26 that have been discovered,
00:51:28 but I can tell you nothing about the
00:51:33 So, yes, we understand the general
00:51:37 but we have not yet taken any real
00:51:41 to protect ourselves or even to look
00:51:43 and see if there's
00:51:50 More telescopes have joined the search
00:51:52 Even the U.S. Air Force has
00:51:57 Big science has taken up
00:52:02 Still, the most experienced team
00:52:06 the charge from a tiny new
00:52:22 Both Carolyn and I,
00:52:25 We like to look at the sky.
00:52:30 It's kind of an old fashioned brand
00:52:34 uh, eyeball observations
00:52:37 there's still a window there
00:52:40 who's got the right idea,
00:52:42 uh, to go and make
00:52:47 Gene and Carolyn Shoemaker should know
00:52:56 Now, they await with all of us the
00:53:05 The question is not if, but when...