BROADCASTS.com

Published: March 28, 2017, 7:12 a.m.

\U0001f4a5explosion noises\U0001f4a5 \n\n

Michael Bay blows things up. Layers of subtlety.

\n\n BIG AS TEXAS \n\n

Just how very very large and unavoidably catastrophic the impactor in this movie is. Size vs Deep Impact. Size vs the dinosaur impactor.

\n\n Visibility of this asteroid\xa0in the sky \n\n

Angular size of this asteroid. Calculations from size, speed and distance suggested in the film (14 arcseconds).\xa0Using Ceres as a baseline for figuring out how bright this asteroid would be in our sky.

\n\n Tracking potential impactors \n\n

We do this irl! It helps when they\u2019re on our solar plane. Comets can come in all\xa0sideways, which can make thing difficult. But we do okay tracking a lot of those too. Apophis.

\n\n Asteroid belts etc \n\n

Common misconceptions about the density of objects in the belt. It\u2019s really diffuse in general! You won\u2019t need to fly\xa0your shuttle like a jet in not-asmosphere.

\n\n Things hit earth \n\n

Lots of past impactors.\xa0Micrometeorites. Modern impacts like Chelyabinsk or Tunguska. Russia is basically a meteor magnet.

\n\n Astronauts \n\n

Drilling and art vs science. Astronaut training and why it\u2019s not that big a deal and you can pretty much skip most of it and hop on an asteroid.\xa0\U0001f60e

\n\n Misc Physics \n\n

Nonsensical simulated\xa0gravity. Slingshot maneuvers. Steeling energy from moons and planets.

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1. \n\t\t\t\tDeep Impact: citizen scientists, extinction events, and avoidance: Decipher SciFi\n\t\t\t
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2. \n\t\t\t\tPhil Plait's Review of Armageddon: Bad Astronomer\n\t\t\t
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3. \n\t\t\t\tUncertainty Principle the Podcast: Uncertainty Principle\n\t\t\t
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