nuke a comet or asteroid were made here eight days out, each one could take out jersey city or chicago or nairobi. the bruce willis defends it doesn't work. again, you've got to stop it in decades ahead. >> host: we are going to take a break and we will have more things to discuss about the asteroid threat >> host: weaver talking before the breakup of the space craft, the space-based mode of changing the asteroid, not just looking for asteroids, so with something deflecting it can ethically and then just nuking it the first thing that would be intriguing to people is what's that all about how are you going to be collected? you are going to make good use of the effect. >> the big story is thanks to astronomy we can spot the danger the other side of the coin is that there is nothing in hand that will actually stop one of them. we don't have it. as a former news man they say it is a very good story. we can stop them. that is a good plan far out. do we have a rocket that can do that? though. if we had a rocket that could do that and it didn't work when it got "-end-quotes in close it looked like it w

out, you would turn a tenable into a great chunk and each chunk could take out jersey city or chicago or nairobi. the bruce willis defense doesn't work. again, it does stop it decades ahead of time. >> host: we're going to take a break for a minute here and we'll come back. we have more things to discuss about the asteroid threat. >> host: we were talking before the break about sort of the spacecraft, the space-based mode of attacking the asteroid or changing the asteroid, not just looking for asteroids. so they are sort of deflecting itself, deflecting it with a big blast or something, deflecting it genetically and then just nuking it. the first thing i think would be very intriguing to people. what's that all about. how are you going to deflected softly? is what you're going to make good use of the butterfly effect. >> guest: the big story here is that yes, thanks to a strong and we can spot the danger. the other side of that coin is there is nothing in hand that will actually stop one of them. we don't have it. as a former newsman, the balloon over my head says, that's a very good story. we c

turn a cannonball into grape shot, and each one of those chunks could take out jersey city, or chicago, or nairobi. the bruise willis defense doesn't -- the bruce willus defense doesn't negotiating. again, you have to stop it decades ahead of time. >> host: we're going to take a break for a minute here and we'll come back. we have some more things to discuss about the asteroid threat. >> on the go? "after words" is available via podcast through i-tunes and xml. visit book toe.org and select pod cast on the side of the page. listen to "after words" while you travel. >> host: we were talking about the break about the spacecraft, the space-based mode of attacking the asteroid or changing the asteroid, not just looking for asteroids. so there's deflecting it softly, deflecting it with a big blast or something, deflecting it kinetically and just nuking it. the first thing is intriguing to people. how will you deflect it softly? like you're going to make good use of the butterfly effect. >> guest: the big story here is that, yes, thanks to astronomy, we can spot the danger. the other side of that coin i