For a stunning simulation of what a large asteroid impact might look like, see:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gig_in_the_Sky
I always thought the story was that Roger Waters asked the vocalist to think about death, but perhaps that’s apocryphal. At the very least it’s appropriate for this video!
I remember when the Killers song Somebody Told Me was all over the radio. I HATED that f'ing song. But I came to love the killers as a side note. When I found out later that was their song I couldnt help liking it more and myself less.
edit:
> She was Alan Parsons' idea. We wanted to put a girl on there, screaming orgasmically. (David Gilmour)
Edit: They are using a much larger asteroid in their simulation, makes sense.
Actually might be wrong about that:
"Three-dimensional computer models developed in May 2009 by a team at the University of Colorado at Boulder postulate that much of Earth's crust, and the microbes living in it, could have survived the bombardment. Their models suggest that although the surface of the Earth would have been sterilized, hydrothermal vents below the Earth's surface could have incubated life by providing a sanctuary for heat-loving microbes."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Heavy_Bombardment
Crazy. But that's only the most basic of microbes that would survive something like that.
interesting. If true, doesn't this have implications for Sagan's Equation? i.e. if life is wiped out and it (somehow) starts again, that implies that any planet like Earth will develop complex life forms given enough time? (or am I missing something...)
But if we discovered one, even with ample lead time, what could we do?
The producers and sponsors of discovery channel 90s-00s should be immensely proud of themselves.
There might be some disruption of the asteroid during its final approach due to tidal forces from the Earth. Whether or not that would result in significant heating of the asteroid's interior is another question.
Early in the history of the solar system, it's possible that many bodies were still hot from latent heat of formation (effectively: the conversion of gravitational potential energy to heat, plus whatever contribution comes from radioactive materials in the body). Note that the heat of Earth's interior is just this, still leaking slowly into space after 4.5 billion years. Large objects take time to cool, and the vacuum of space eliminates conductive and convective cooling, leaving only blackbody radiation. Thermal management is a major issue for satellites and space probes, particularly if they have a significant energy demand.