From Birger Johansson
Dan Falk asks whether anyone will put up the money to realise a defence
system against asteroids heading in the direction of Earth
(20 May, p 36).
People usually care more about dangers that manifest themselves close to
their homes. It is a little-known fact that one of the world’s greatest asteroid
impact structures lies right on the doorstep of the US nation’s policy makers
in Washington DC.
The impact 35 million years ago that created the crater buried underneath
Chesapeake Bay was one of the biggest since the one that killed the dinosaurs.
Its age coincides with a minor mass extinction.
Unfortunately, it is buried under sediments, and can only be traced by
drilling and gravimetric maps. However, with computer graphics, the impact and
its consequences could be recreated for a wide audience. Remember that
spending on palaeontology increased after Jurassic Park hit
the cinemas.
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Astronomers could set up a museum or a Disney-style crater theme park,
displaying ejecta fragments and animated films of the crash, preferably as close
to Capitol Hill as possible.
If a surviving asteroid fragment could be found, it should be prominently
displayed. Alternatively, it could be dropped on the head of the next politician
who says “asteroids are no danger”.
Umeå, Sweden
