Re: Missile Defense System

In Article <3B5627E3.3E2280F1@home.com> Robert Ehrlich wrote:
> I am not sure it would work well with meteors.  I wonder
> what it would take to pulverise a 500m diameter Ni/Fe meteor --
> or even deflect it? Might be able to do it with H-bomb tipped missles.
> After breakup, if any, how much of the stuff would approximately
> follow the original trajectory.

Good thinking!  You and the Zetas agree!  This is what they wrote on the
subject in late 1996:

    Deflection of large objects traveling in space or plummeting
    to Earth must address several problems.

    * The object is traveling because it is caught in a gravitational
      attraction. This might not be the case in deep space, but
      within the Solar System this is most certainly the case. If
      an asteroid is heading toward Earth, bumping it to the side
      a bit or even temporarily stopping its motion is at best a
      delaying action. The asteroid will resume its path, as the
      factors that influenced the path in the first place are still
      there.

    * Attempting to aim the asteroid so it falls in the ocean has
      the potential for making matters worse, not better. Unlike
      the winged space shuttles, which can start their descent
      path at precise points and behave predictably, asteroids do
      not take orders or respond to controls. They are odd shaped,
      their shape an unknown variable. They may or may not burn
      fiercely, a heated air factor that is not known. They may
      circle or plummet, depending on their weight and size, more
      unknown variables. Thus attempting to steer them could
      prove disastrous. Oops, dropped it it right on the Pentagon!

    * A nuclear explosion set off on the surface of an object in
      space would have minimal effect, as the explosion can expand
      in all directions at once. Nuclear explosions on the Earth's
      surface are an irresistible force meeting an immovable
      object - the Earth! Where the explosion can expand up or
      outward into the atmosphere there is only air turbulence. The
      portion of the explosion that is on the land side, or in the
      case of an underground explosion is encapsulated, is between
      a rock and a hot expanding place. The explosion is forced
      into the rock strata by the continuously expanding center of
      the explosion. Solid rock vaporized by nuclear explosions on
      the Earth's surface does not equate to the damage that would
      be done by one or even many nuclear devices on the surface
      of an asteroid. All parts of the explosion move rapidly out
      into space, and thus the asteroid is safely away before the
      nuke really gets going. A firecracker. A gnat. A sneeze.
      And the asteroid proceeds on its way, having only
      momentarily stepped aside to avoid mankind's silly
      experiment.
           ZetaTalk™, Asteroid Deflection
              (http://www.zetatalk.com/science/s74.htm)