NASA says mysterious object hurtling towards Earth could be an asteroid or a comet

mirror.co.uk ^ | 11:20, 4 JAN 2017 | Libby Plummer

[IYAS9YAS]

Anybody here who knows about this stuff, is it possible for an undetected asteroid or meteor big enough to kill life on earth to be only a week or a month or a year away?

How good are we tracking these things? Is it possible to know for certain?

Yes.
Not very, but getting better.
No.

[Beowulf9]

We're coming for youuuuuu

[nickedknack]

"I'm baaack!!!"

[spokeshave]

How good are we tracking these things? Is it possible to know for certain?

There used to be an excellent long range tracking system in the US...but older technology...Obama had it shut down.

was tracking space junk and space rocks.

[Karl Spooner]

Earth Entering Comet Debris Field/Live

[JPG]

Is it gonna stop here? Hey, I needs a ride home! You tell whoever is driving dat thing to picks me up!!

[metmom]

Wormwood?

[RckyRaCoCo]

[A meteor has just landed right by Paul and Kathy.]

Kathy: Paul, are you alright? What happened?
Servo: She gets off the ground saying, “What happened?” a lot.

(mystery science theater 3000)

[CtBigPat]

Only Doctor Hans Zarkhov, formerly at NASA, has provided any explanation.

[MayflowerMadam]

Thank you!

[pfflier]

So it's not hurtling towards earth, implying the possibility of a hit.

It is traveling in a direction that will take it near earth's orbit. There is one, maybe two fractions of time, in 356.25 days where it may actually "hurtle towards earth" and it will miss earth by 32 million miles.

That isn't as dramatic as the overly sensational news headline makes it sound.

[BenLurkin]

Think maybe he could hook me up with Princess Aura?

[TigersEye]

At its farthest distance from the sun, it approaches Jupiter's orbit.

After that, it heads back toward the outer solar system.

Both of those statements can't be true. Either its orbit takes it almost to Jupiter or to the outer solar system. Not both.

[nvskibum]

Trump a-ah
Savior of the Universe
Trump a-ah
He’ll save every one of us

(Seemingly there is no reason for these extraordinary intergalactical upsets)
(Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha)
(What’s happening Trump?)
(Only Doctor Hans Zarkhov, formerly at NASA, has provided any explanation)

Trump a-ah
He’s a miracle
...

Trump a-ah
King of the impossible

He’s for every one of us
Stand for every one of us
He save with a mighty hand
Every man, every woman
Every child,
with a mighty... Tweet

[Yardstick]

...could be an asteroid or a comet.

---

Or maybe a Buick.

[nvskibum]

Curiously, the writer of that “ge<’ of a song, Dr. Brian May, (Queen guitar player and Ph.D. in astrophysics) is one of the co-founders of a group of concerned scientists called Asteroid Day.org

This group was set up to increase public consciousness of the danger of asteroids that could collide with the earth, and advocate for a concerted scientific effort to locate and track more of the potential threats. They claim that 99% of the potential threats are undetected. Numerous prominent scientists and former astronauts have endorsed this project.

[nvskibum]

typo correction: writer of that “gem” of a song

[dp0622]

Great. The second person who knows about this basically is saying we could get clocked at anytime. :)

Better keep my umbrella out.

[Larry Lucido]

Plan 9.

From Outer Space.

[BraveMan]

Sweet Meteor of Death.