Did anyone say Armageddon? Nuclear bombs might prove effective against dangerous asteroids

Nuclear bombs might emerge as a form of defence against asteroids threatening to harm Earth. Scientists at a US government facility have now shown how a nuclear blast can avert a potential danger in the first comprehensive demo of nuclear-assisted planetary defence.

Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories have worked out a way to use a blast of X-rays to fight off a celestial intruder. The primary mission of the experts here is to ensure the safety and security of the US nuclear arsenal.

The research was published in the journal Nature Physics.

The experts have recorded in nanosecond detail how radiation unleashed by a nuclear blast could rapidly heat up anasteroid's surface, creating vapour jets that push it away. The heat goes up to tens of thousands of degrees in this scenario. This method is also expected to be faster and cheaper.

"The vapourised material shoots off one side, pushing the asteroid in the opposite direction. It’s like turning the asteroid into its own rocket," Dr Nathan Moore, the first author of the study, said.

Researchers simulated the nuke scenario in lab experiments and the targets were two 12mm samples. One of these objects was made of quartz and the other fused silica. Soft X-ray pulses were generated using the Z machine to strike the targets. The X-rays also vapourised the thin metal foils used to hold the samples in place.

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The mock asteroids were “levitating” when the X-rays hit them.

They found that using nukes to deflect asteroids can work on space rocks up to four km (2.5 miles) wide.

“If there is enough warning time, one can certainly deflect larger asteroids,” Moore said.

Asteroids that caused devastation

Our planet witnessed its most devastating asteroid strike 65 million years ago when a space rock, about 6 miles wide, slammed into the Yucatan Peninsula. This event released energy equivalent to 4.7 billion atomic bombs. It killed the dinosaurs, wiping out 75 per cent of life on the planet.

Even smaller rocks can cause devastation as proved by the 66-foot-wide meteor, less than 20 metres, that exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in 2013. It injured more than 1,200 people in the region.

“If there is enough warning time, one can certainly deflect larger asteroids,” Moore said.

DART Mission

The DART probe used kinetic energy to slam into Dimorphos, a moonlet of an asteroid called Didymos in 2022. However, this approach can only be used years before impending impact.

The nuclear method would be much effective against larger asteroids and especially when the time at hand is less.