An asteroid exploded near a US early warning radar base and we’re lucky it didn’t spark nuclear Armageddon

https://metro.co.uk/2018/08/03/aster...eddon-7794769/

An asteroid has exploded in a ‘fireball’ near an American early warning radar
base, prompting a top scientist to reflect on how a similar ‘freak’ incident
could cause nuclear war. The meteor was only detected after it detonated close
to Thule Airbase, Greenland, on July 25. A prominent nuclear expert later
discussed how the US military could have mistaken the explosion for a Russian
‘first strike’ and launched up to 2,000 nukes in retaliation.

The meteor was only detected after it detonated close to Thule Airbase,
Greenland, on July 25. A prominent nuclear expert later discussed how the US
military could have mistaken the explosion for a Russian ‘first strike’ and
launched up to 2,000 nukes in retaliation.

A prominent nuclear expert later discussed how the US military could have
mistaken the explosion for a Russian ‘first strike’ and launched up to 2,000
nukes in retaliation.

Thule is a base in Greenland which incorporates a Ballistic Missile Early
Warning Site designed to spot nuclear doomsday weapons flying towards America.
Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the
Federation of American Scientists, tweeted: ‘We’re still here, so they correctly
concluded it was not a Russian first strike.

‘There are nearly 2,000 nukes on alert, ready to launch.’ Kristensen told Metro
that a ‘freak incident like this could potentially trigger an alert that caused
the United States to overreact’, although he stressed such an event was
unlikely.

‘The potential risks are about what could happen in a tense crisis where two
nuclear powers were at each other’s throats and a conventional shooting war had
broken out and part of the command and control system degraded,’ he said. ‘The
early warning systems are supposed to be able to differentiate and in most cases
probably would be able to do so.

‘But with large number of nuclear weapons on high alert, the concern would be
that an overreaction could trigger a series of events that escalated the
conflict significantly.

‘There have been cases during the Cold War where atmospheric events caused early
warning systems to falsely report nuclear attacks. Fortunately, military
officers figured out that they were false alarms.’ He said tensions were low at
the moment, making it very unlikely that an asteroid strike would trigger a
nuclear war.



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"Miloch" wrote in message news

https://metro.co.uk/2018/08/03/aster...eddon-7794769/

An asteroid has exploded in a ‘fireball’ near an American early warning
radar base, prompting a top scientist to reflect on how a similar ‘freak’
incident could cause nuclear war. The meteor was only detected after it
detonated close to Thule Airbase, Greenland, on July 25. A prominent
nuclear expert later discussed how the US military could have mistaken the
explosion for a Russian ‘first strike’ and launched up to 2,000 nukes in
retaliation.

Did the half-megaton bang of the Chelyabinsk meteor set off any alarm bells
in Moscow?: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelyabinsk_meteor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5ov5Uz5bpk

On Fri, 3 Aug 2018 12:37:05 -0500, "Byker" wrote:

"Miloch" wrote in message news

https://metro.co.uk/2018/08/03/aster...eddon-7794769/

An asteroid has exploded in a ‘fireball’ near an American early warning
radar base, prompting a top scientist to reflect on how a similar ‘freak’
incident could cause nuclear war. The meteor was only detected after it
detonated close to Thule Airbase, Greenland, on July 25. A prominent
nuclear expert later discussed how the US military could have mistaken the
explosion for a Russian ‘first strike’ and launched up to 2,000 nukes in
retaliation.

Did the half-megaton bang of the Chelyabinsk meteor set off any alarm bells
in Moscow?: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelyabinsk_meteor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5ov5Uz5bpk

Good to know that if we ever get taken over by dinosaurs again, all we
ghave to do is drop a cruiser on them...