Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Meteorite crash in Russia

rt.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

221–230 of 311 posts

Re: Meteorite crash in Russia

#221

Post by DanBC »

rwallace wrote: post #220
madaxe wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There probably is a nuclear blast in that mix. They stated that anti-missile systems intercepted it - the only thing with a hope in hell of reaching and destroying/breaking a meteor is the 53T6 Gazelle, which has a 10kt warhead.

I predict the ABM interception will turn out not to have occurred. We don't have a surveillance system capable of detecting something that size until it hits atmosphere, which means there would only be seconds of warning. That's not enough time to make the decision to fire an ABM.

> I predict the ABM interception will turn out not to have occurred.

I agree.

> We don't have a surveillance system capable of detecting something that size until it hits atmosphere,

NASA tracks at least 21,000 items above 10 cm diameter.

Objects above 3 mm can be tracked by ground based radar. (http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/faqs.html#3)

(http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/)

Re: Meteorite crash in Russia

#222

Post by twoodfin »

Jach wrote: post #78
justin_vanw wrote: post #61

Wow, do you know how lucky we all are? Silly little shit like this could easily start WW3. We need complete ICBM disarmament. They can keep their bombs and we can keep ours (for now), but we should restrict delivery systems such that there is a built in lag (bombers taking many minutes or hours to reach their targets), and can be recalled. ICBM's can be launched in a moment, and it is impossible to recall them or dis…

No sane military would introduce such a lag. Furthermore I think your concerns are overblown. After all, something far more "potentially disastrous" happened in 1983 at a high point in Soviet/US tensions, and fortunately the guy in charge of retaliation launching had the common sense to reason a war wouldn't be started with one (or in his case, 5) missiles. http://lesswrong.com/lw/jq/926_is_petrov_day/

Another problem with a "long fuse" approach: It offers either antagonist a (seemingly) low-cost path of escalation (say, "just" deploying the ICBMs to their silos) during a crisis. This not only necessitates a comparable response, it is subject to being interpreted as more belligerent than intended. After you've gone a few rounds of this, you're right back where we are now, launch keys always ready to turn, except this time you're riding the momentum of mounting brinksmanship.

Re: Meteorite crash in Russia

#223

Post by johnward »

jevinskie wrote: post #207
creamyhorror wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's a great dashcam video that captures the meteor arcing across its field of vision and lighting up the scene more brightly than the sun like a nuclear blast (first submitted to HN by dennisgorelik). I almost thought it was a hoax, and even tried to examine the video for signs that it was CGI. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJOJ6B2XOyA The guy doesn't even say anything for a long while, just starts speeding up. e…

Can anyone explain why I see so many dashcam videos from Russia?

If the crazy shit that is caught on dash cams was going on every day I'd have one too.

Re: Meteorite crash in Russia

#225

Post by rdtsc »

jevinskie wrote: post #207
creamyhorror wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's a great dashcam video that captures the meteor arcing across its field of vision and lighting up the scene more brightly than the sun like a nuclear blast (first submitted to HN by dennisgorelik). I almost thought it was a hoax, and even tried to examine the video for signs that it was CGI. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJOJ6B2XOyA The guy doesn't even say anything for a long while, just starts speeding up. e…

Can anyone explain why I see so many dashcam videos from Russia?

Corruption.

* Pedestrians are corrupt -- they throw themselves in front of your car then sue for damages.

* Other motorists are corrupt -- they lie about the accident facts

* Cops are corrupt -- easily bought off and bribed (or tapped through nepotism)

Re: Meteorite crash in Russia

#227

Post by ovi256 »

DanBC wrote: post #221
rwallace wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I predict the ABM interception will turn out not to have occurred. We don't have a surveillance system capable of detecting something that size until it hits atmosphere, which means there would only be seconds of warning. That's not enough time to make the decision to fire an ABM.

> I predict the ABM interception will turn out not to have occurred. I agree. > We don't have a surveillance system capable of detecting something that size until it hits atmosphere, NASA tracks at least 21,000 items above 10 cm diameter. Objects above 3 mm can be tracked by ground based radar. ( http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/faqs.html#3 ) ( http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/ )

Almost all the items NASA tracks have orbits inside the solar system. This thing came out of nowhere (if it's orbiting around the Sun, it's so excentric that the orbit period is very long so it's like we saw it for the first time - if it's not orbiting the Sun, we did see it for the first time).

Re: Meteorite crash in Russia

#228

Post by gambiting »

jevinskie wrote: post #207
creamyhorror wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's a great dashcam video that captures the meteor arcing across its field of vision and lighting up the scene more brightly than the sun like a nuclear blast (first submitted to HN by dennisgorelik). I almost thought it was a hoax, and even tried to examine the video for signs that it was CGI. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJOJ6B2XOyA The guy doesn't even say anything for a long while, just starts speeding up. e…

Can anyone explain why I see so many dashcam videos from Russia?

People stop right in front of you on the motorway so you would crash into them,and then sue for damages. If you manage to stop in time,they will reverse into your car, and then they will lie about you hitting them. Dashcams prevent all of that,and from what I heard at least half the drivers in Russia now have them.

Re: Meteorite crash in Russia

#229

Post by schiffern »

DanBC wrote: post #221
rwallace wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I predict the ABM interception will turn out not to have occurred. We don't have a surveillance system capable of detecting something that size until it hits atmosphere, which means there would only be seconds of warning. That's not enough time to make the decision to fire an ABM.

> I predict the ABM interception will turn out not to have occurred. I agree. > We don't have a surveillance system capable of detecting something that size until it hits atmosphere, NASA tracks at least 21,000 items above 10 cm diameter. Objects above 3 mm can be tracked by ground based radar. ( http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/faqs.html#3 ) ( http://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/ )

Size isn't everything. Tracking objects in Earth orbit is much easier. You can combine multiple radar measurements to tease a signal out of the noise floor, and model the orbital mechanics to achieve better spatial resolution than your instrument can actually resolve.

Re: Meteorite crash in Russia

#230

Post by eric_bullington »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #156
pacomerh wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why some of the people are still listening to the radio and so uninterested.

The number 1 most important factor in dealing with emergencies is recognizing that an emergency is happening in the first place. It's easy to get mislead by movies and tv and the way things happen and the way people react. In reality things don't work that way. It can sometimes be difficult to tell when an emergency is happening, and a lot of people won't pay enough attention. How often do people ignore fire alarms,…

This is so true. In fact, there's an excellent book by a journalist named Amanda Ripley that describes this phenomenon called The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes[0].

0. http://www.amandaripley.com/book

Post reply on HN