Comment Re:"Earth Impact Effects Program" Calculations (Score 1) 524
Well that sounds all good, but consider what the NASA website says about their figures:
"Diameter - This is an estimate, based on the absolute magnitude, and assuming a uniform spherical body with visual albedo pV = 0.154. Since the albedo is rarely well determined the diameter estimate should be considered quite rough, but in most cases will be accurate to within a factor of two.
"Mass - This estimate assumes a uniform spherical body with the computed diameter and a mass density of 2.6 g/cm3. The mass estimate is somewhat more rough than the diameter estimate, but generally will be accurate to within a factor of three."
Combining the two uncertainties means that the mass of the rock could vary by a factor of six or more. Then there's the angle of impact, adding even more uncertainty. Wanna run those figures again?
"Diameter - This is an estimate, based on the absolute magnitude, and assuming a uniform spherical body with visual albedo pV = 0.154. Since the albedo is rarely well determined the diameter estimate should be considered quite rough, but in most cases will be accurate to within a factor of two.
"Mass - This estimate assumes a uniform spherical body with the computed diameter and a mass density of 2.6 g/cm3. The mass estimate is somewhat more rough than the diameter estimate, but generally will be accurate to within a factor of three."
Combining the two uncertainties means that the mass of the rock could vary by a factor of six or more. Then there's the angle of impact, adding even more uncertainty. Wanna run those figures again?
