Domestic scientists with the help of special calculations and a supercomputer were able to find the best way to destroy an asteroid with nuclear weapons.
This information was reported by The Independent. It is noted that specialists representing Tomsk State University, after conducting a series of tests, were able to determine how best to detonate an asteroid in order to avoid a lot of radioactive debris falling onto our planet.
As the correspondent of the publication Doug Bolton clarified, scientists have come to the conclusion that it is best to destroy the asteroid with a preemptive strike at the moment when it is heading away from the Earth. Striking from behind will ensure that "the fragments will fly forward after the explosion."
Note, earlier it was proposed to destroy the asteroid when it approached the Earth. However, as many experts argue, this could lead to disaster.
Astronomy expert Tatyana Galushina stressed that it is impossible to use nuclear weapons in space. There is a Contract. However, in the “case of a real threat to humanity” this rule should be excluded.
It should be noted that not everyone agrees with the above. So, the head of the Russian Institute of Astronomy Boris Shustov is rather skeptical about this proposal, noting that the use of nuclear weapons in space "is like a steam-air hammer when cracking a nut."