Deep Impact: Caranacas, Peru 2007

[Mr_ Bondoc]

On September 19, 2007, a meteor, 20m (c.63 ft.) in diameter struck teh town of Caranacas, Puno Region, Peru (near the Bolivian border). For more information, check out the following information:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7001897.stm

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...teor-peru.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Pe...eteorite_event

What is unusal is that for a meteor of the nature provided an impact that would have devastated everything for 100 km would have been predicted. Furthermore, a nauseous gas has been blamed on sickness in local residents around the site of the impact. What if it had hit with a normal impact, with the blast resembling a thermonuclear weapon? What are the implications for the United States, the European Union, Russia, et al.?

[Chris Oakley]

At the very least, relations between the Bush and Putin administrations would be worse than they are already....

[seraphim74]

Originally posted by Chris Oakley

At the very least, relations between the Bush and Putin administrations would be worse than they are already....

Why? After short panic in NORAD and its Russian counterpart after detecting something like thermonuclear detonation, everybody would have asked "And who would like to nuke Peru?" Not the Russians, not the US, not the Chinese. US would have sent special teams to assess the damage and check if that was a bomb, they would have discovered it wasn't and that would be all. Peru gets some international help, everybody rise a terrible cry "WI that rock hit Moscow (Washington, Bejing, Paris, London)?". That might be the start for some international sky-watch program.

[Douglas]

Interestingly enough, the 100 kilometer figure for destruction radius means that Lak Titicaca will be hit, meaning that Bolivia's Navy will, unfortunately, be wiped out again, along with quite a few people. La Paz's outskirts will be devastated, although the city may just barely be outside the radius.

[PMN1]

Originally Posted by Mr_ Bondoc

On September 19, 2007, a meteor, 20m (c.63 ft.) in diameter struck teh town of Caranacas, Puno Region, Peru (near the Bolivian border). For more information, check out the following information:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7001897.stm

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...teor-peru.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Pe...eteorite_event

What is unusal is that for a meteor of the nature provided an impact that would have devastated everything for 100 km would have been predicted. Furthermore, a nauseous gas has been blamed on sickness in local residents around the site of the impact. What if it had hit with a normal impact, with the blast resembling a thermonuclear weapon? What are the implications for the United States, the European Union, Russia, et al.?

Where do you get the 100km radius from?

[Mr_ Bondoc]

Originally Posted by PMN1

Where do you get the 100km radius from?

One of the scientists, who was interviewed by New Scientist, who has excavted the site wherein the meteorite crashed, said that with that with a meteor the size of 20m, the normal prediction wouldn't be to go indoors, but rather to try and evacuate the area for 100km. I know this is a paraphrase, but it certainly got me thinking. For the article, check out:

http://space.newscientist.com/channe...g-is-safe.html

[Mr_ Bondoc]

Here are some other articles to make things interesting. Apparently one theory is that the meteor was actually a defunct military satellite:

http://freeworldsurvey.blogspot.com/...-military.html

and here is one from YouTube, that describes the disease that mysteriously spread after the crash:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPY6gY_5gsw

[Jomazi]

1. There is no reference whatsoever to the meteroite having a diameter of 20m.

2. A 20m asteroid would weigh roughly 16.74kt if it had a density of 4000, and if moving in 20km/s the impact energy would be equivalent to 800Kt of TNT.

The minimal possible (low orbital) energy would be rougly 30kt. No house can survive being 120m from such a bang.

3. The barringer crater, which has a diameter of 12OOm and a depth of 170 was blasted out by a 50m stone. This stone, if it had a diameter of 20m would have something like (20/50)^3 = 0.064 of that energy, or a likely crater size (if the volume is proportional to stone weight) of 0.064^1/3 = 0.4 * 1200 and 170m = 480 and 68m.

The crater in the articles OTOH has a diameter of 13m. Now, does this make sense?

No.

The diameter of that stone was likely in the 1-2m range. Apparently there were selenium, arsenic, sulfur and such in the earth where it hit, and the poor ol Peruvians got sick from inhaling.

EDIT: Also, radiation from an U-238 source would, if dispersed, have been easily detectable and would likely cause quite a few fatalities. Also, no satellite would be anywhere near heavy enough to create such a bang WO falling apart in the atmosphere. Vehicles specifically built to survive an atmospheric re-entry would, but it'd still have to be quite heavy to do such damage.

[Mr_ Bondoc]

Originally Posted by seraphim74

Originally posted by Chris Oakley


Why? After short panic in NORAD and its Russian counterpart after detecting something like thermonuclear detonation, everybody would have asked "And who would like to nuke Peru?" Not the Russians, not the US, not the Chinese. US would have sent special teams to assess the damage and check if that was a bomb, they would have discovered it wasn't and that would be all. Peru gets some international help, everybody rise a terrible cry "WI that rock hit Moscow (Washington, Bejing, Paris, London)?". That might be the start for some international sky-watch program.

The problem with an sky-watch program is that it is often linked to a missile defense system. which would certainly attract the ire of President Vladimir Putin, who was worried that the proposed American missile defense in the Czech Republic could be used as a first strike weapon against Russia. The same complaint could be made regarding Beijing and American missiles in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

[PMN1]

Originally Posted by Mr_ Bondoc

The problem with an sky-watch program is that it is often linked to a missile defense system. which would certainly attract the ire of President Vladimir Putin, who was worried that the proposed American missile defense in the Czech Republic could be used as a first strike weapon against Russia. The same complaint could be made regarding Beijing and American missiles in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

Strangely enough, the Chinese have made far less fuss about the system India has been testing despite having far fewer missiles to throw.

[Mr_ Bondoc]

Originally Posted by PMN1

Strangely enough, the Chinese have made far less fuss about the system India has been testing despite having far fewer missiles to throw.

The problem with India is that the missiles they are far less reliable and accurate than American missiles. Also there is often a large gap in years between testing and operational capability with the Indian military. There is also the added bonus of the ally of Pakistan to help protect China. As such, the Chinese are certainly more concerned about the anti-missile defense network be the Americans in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan.