Earth almost put on impact alert

http://news.bbc.co.uk ^ | Tuesday, 24 February, 2004, 17:33 GMT | Dr. David Whitehouse

[null and void]

That's hot fudge Sunday is on Tuesday this week...

[GeraldP]

Obligatory "Space Art":

[hchutch]

Time to start dusting off Project Icarus again?

[null and void]

Generally, even if they call the White House, the citizens will not be notified until the impact point is known

if then...

[RightWhale]

I just want to watch the scientists argue

They won't argue if they think nobody is watching. If one of them is a crackpot, maybe, but in general scientists all belong to the same club.

[Rummyfan]

And women, children, and minorities would have been hardest hit!

[Chris Talk]

The more flexible ones could bend way, way over and try to kiss their &%*% good-bye.

[GSWarrior]

Oh yeah, that's right. Time to break out the surfboard.

[Poohbah]

Oh yeah, that's right. Time to break out the surfboard.

Remember that scene in the novel Lucifer's Hammer?

[scott7278]

WARNING: The following is a PARODY comment attributed to John Kerry. Do not let it fool you:

"Why were the researchers suffering and fretting over calling him? Were they scared of the corporate repurcussions and possible job losses? Did they not have adequate health insurance to treat possible heart problems? Were they over the age of 65 and unable to afford their medications?

This information leads to a difficult question, one that I take no pleasure in asking. But since I'm patriotic and a Vietnam Veteran I have to ask it: 'Why was he sleeping in the first place?' He should have been taking the time to know if there were any asteroids close to us, that might lead to further job loss and higher health insurance premiums.

He should have been using those hours to be calling scientists all over the world, making sure that the women and children of this world are safe and that civil rights can continue. Doesn't he care about that?

The fact that there were so few researchers on the job was probably due to the tax cuts enacted by this president. I would immediately rescind the tax cuts -- we dodged a bullet here, but we need more government researchers watching the skies at all times.

This is a serious situation -- I demand an investigation! As president, I will make sure that we are always safe from asteroids.

One last thing. Don't you go attacking my patriotism because I asked this question, Mr. Bush. Don't you dare dismiss my questions as "silly" or "mundane." I didn't fight in Vietnam and earn 3 Purple Hearts only to die from an asteroid.

I am a Vietnam Veteran, and I will debate you anytime about asteroids."

This concludes the PARODY comment attributed to John Kerry.

[Godzilla]

If they want to get serious about it, I'd recommend a system similar to what the weather service uses: Advisory, Watch, and Warning. They could have issued an Advisory while they were in the process of collecting the confirmatory data. The Watch or Warning would be based upon the evaluation of the data and proximity to the estimated impact time.

[RightWhale]

That is some meteorite! Even bigger than Albania. Seriously, though, a lot more would be happening in such a collision than what shows in the artist's rendering. The meteorite would already be coming apart due to earth's gravity, and there would probably be some major electrical effects. The waves and ripples around the impact site wouldn't be forming immediately; the impact would be in slow motion on that scale, but not so slow that land waves would move relatively that fast.

[theDentist]

Gee. Pity it couldn't have happened while Bill was in office so the people could see how he handles a crisis. And think of the Legacy Factor! {/sarcasm}

[PBRSTREETGANG]

More importantly, were Ben Afleck and Bruce Willis placed on notice so they could save us?

[RightWhale]

Time to go to the supermarket and buy a few cases of Spam. The question is whether eating just Spam will do one in quicker than simply starving.

[Ditter]

Think of the panic it would have caused if they had announced it. I have seen what happens when a small part of the coast is evacuated for a hurricane, gridlock. Imagine if they announced that it was going to hit in a populated area. What a nightmare. If I can't get out of the way in time, don't even tell me about it.

[Ronzo]

Remember that scene in the novel Lucifer's Hammer?

I certainly do! Well, at least there's two of us Freeper's who've actually read that book! Good book too...

[billybudd]

...bne gun shty... be gun shy?

I think he meant "bone gun sh!tty".

[randog]

Think of the panic it would have caused if they had announced it. I have seen what happens when a small part of the coast is evacuated for a hurricane, gridlock. Imagine if they announced that it was going to hit in a populated area. What a nightmare. If I can't get out of the way in time, don't even tell me about it.

Thanks to Hollywood and pop science, we can now look forward to mass hysteria and possibly un-needed deaths everytime something comes "close" to earth.

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

One effect of something like this could be a nuclear nation (India, Pakistan, U.S., U.S.S.R. etc.) mistaking the space rock for a weapon launched by an adversary and retaliating accordingly.