Asteroid Impact Simulator Isn’t for the Faint-Hearted

December 08, 2022 By Monica Green

(Image Credit Google)

Neal Agarwal, a talented programmer, has developed a new asteroid impact simulator that is both fascinating and terrifying. You may launch a space asteroid towards Earth to test how much destruction it would do using the Asteroid Launcher, which does exactly what it says on the tin. The fact that Asteroid Launcher gives you the option to choose the asteroid's size, composition, speed, impact angle, and exact point of collision with Earth makes it especially intriguing. The impact's ramifications are then listed in incredible detail, perhaps a little too much for some. Agarwal also took the endeavor seriously, consulting academic works that contained numerous asteroid-related equations to help him provide the most precise impact data possible. What would occur then, for instance, if a mile-wide iron asteroid traveling at 38,000 mph reached Hollywood, a city more accustomed to seeing calamities be portrayed than experiencing one?

Asteroid Launcher estimates that the impact would be equivalent to 346 gigatons of TNT detonating, leaving a crater that is 2,576 feet deep and 16 miles wide. A startling estimate of 1.65 million individuals would be immediately vaporized by the devastating collision inside the crater zone. The information provided by Asteroid Launcher doesn't end there, either; it also kindly tells us that around 9 million people will perish in the ensuing conflagration and approximately 5 million would die from the shock wave. More than 10,000 mph winds would reach their peak, causing homes within 250 miles to collapse. Oh, and there would be eardrum ruptures for everyone within 110 miles. Additionally, even if the simulator is silent on the subject, anticipate that Hollywood's movie output will also suffer. Apparently, an impact of this nature only happens once every 2.3 million years on average, so hopefully it won't happen anytime soon. Although this one might raise some questions for our future selves. The good news is that NASA is working on a device to divert an incoming space rock from Earth's track if it is determined to pose a major hazard. A test of the technology in September showed encouraging results. Agarwal is also attempting to find some positivity in a disastrous asteroid hit on Earth.

By Monica Green

I am specialised in latest tech and tech discoveries.

Asteroid Impact Simulator Isn’t for the Faint-Hearted

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