Posted on 12/09/2005 9:07:47 AM PST by emiller
LONDON — Scientists are monitoring the progress of a 390m-wide asteroid discovered last year that is potentially on a collision course with the planet, and are imploring governments to decide on a strategy for dealing with it.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has estimated that an impact from Apophis, which has an outside chance of hitting the Earth in 2036, would release more than 100,000 times the energy released in the nuclear blast over Hiroshima.
Thousands of square kilometres would be directly affected by the blast but the whole of the Earth would see the effects of the dust released into the atmosphere. In Egyptian myth, Apophis was the ancient spirit of evil and destruction, a demon that was determined to plunge the world into eternal darkness.
The experts fear that there is very little time left to decide.
(Excerpt) Read more at todayonline.com ...
OK, so "cockeyed optimist" is an "ignorant personal attack?" And the equivelant response is "a-hole?"
Well, that about sums up a 12 year olds mental capacity. So I guess I'll stoop to your level, but just this once.
Things hit us? Agreed.
They always have and always will? Agreed
They haven't killed us yet? Agreed
- HOLD UP THERE QUIEN NO SABE -
I don't buy that last one. There is lots of evidence that the Tunguska was a 60 meter fragment of the Swift-Tuttle debris field that we know as the Perseid meteor shower. That event happened less than 100 years ago and has been measured as a 10 to 15 megaton blast. And Apophis is over 300 meters.
If we only assume that human being have been on Earth for 250,000 years that's .04% of our time here. What are the odds that it has never resulted in "killing us?" And most scientists put the odds of objects of that size hitting us at one every 50 to 100 years. That means we're due for another. What if it's over New York? How about Beijing? How well do you think human civilization would do in those circumstances? Of course we'd have time and the foresight to convice the Chinese that we hadn't fired at them. Yep. And I've got a bridge to sell you, too.
Have you bothered to learn anything about the Apollo 1, Challenger or Columbia tragedies? I assume, given your posts, that you are anti space program. Given that I would safely assume that you view those as "proof" of the foolishness of spending money on "funding" those things. Are you familiar with Frank Borman's testimony before the Senate hearings on the Apollo 1 fire? He laid out the reason for that tragedy. It was a "failure of imagination." We didn't think that it could happen. Anyone who raised the risk was an "a-hole." The Morton Thiokol tech who was over ruled on the Challenger launch used the phrase "this is away from goodness." Get the point?
I'm not an optimist. I'm not a pessimist. I'm a realist. I don't care if the glass if half full or half empty. I only care is it contains POISON! I'm smart enough to know that that is a reasonable question. Folks like you aren't.
And as to your closing comment "donate." I do. I'd rather that my tax dollars go to NASA and the study of NEO threats than to bridges to nowhere or rebuilding Gomorrah (New Orleans) or providing milk, corn or soy bean subsidies. And I contribute time, money and expertise to expanding human knowledge and towards our ultimate survival in several other ways. I doubt that you can say the same. In fact, it appears that your greatest contribution to the species would be to insure that your genes are not spilled into the pool, even by accident.
BRITAIN'S PLAN TO SAVE PLANET FROM QUAKES AND ASTEROIDS...
The Times | 3/30/05 | Mark Henderson
Posted on 03/29/2005 7:05:24 PM PST by LoudAmericanCowboy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1373525/posts
Because the very close miss in 2029 will change its orbit and differences beyond the precision of our current data will determine whether or not it hits in 2036. For more details check out my post #18 in this thread.
This is NOT the usual Chicken Little or the other usual reach for funding. If we do nothing we won't know whether we REALLY have a problem until too late. Relatively modest funding now or in the next few years will let us know whether to panic in time to panic effectively. If we're going to have asteroid rendezvous missions anyway, just pick this as your target and include placing a radio beacon on it as part of the mission. That would resolve the uncertainty. If OK then continue leisurely research on asteroid interdiction. If the long shot is going to hit than it trumps everything.
From the initial post:
"has someone in some1 observatory found something1 even nastier coming? And they2 won't tell 3 us4, becuase5 they2'd fear we4'd panic."
2 The infamous "they".
3 "They", "them", etc.. are keeping important information from "us".
4 Whatever wackjob theory involving "them" isn't important just to the wackjob but all of "us", "we", etc..
5 "We" don't have time to spell-check! "They" are after "us".
I was not referring to that post. I was referring to others that seem to imply this could never happen, or would only happen many years from now. You know, with all the tin foil comments.
LOL! I'd say there is a better than average chance you have read it!
Not exclusively though. As there have been some rather notable asteroid discoveries by amateur astronomers, using amateur equipment. Not to mention comet discoveries achieved by amateurs.
Hi, I am a scientist. I make my living at it. Problem is what I study has only an "outside chance" of actually being meaningful to peoples everyday lives. Even less than the space program in general. I am a subset, of a subset and basically like a baseball player I get paid to do what I love. However unlike a baseball game no one will pay to see my work. It is quite boring to watch me pour over calculus and radio telescope scans. Unlike even general Astronomy I can't even come up with pretty pictures because comets and asteroids are basically grey blips in space. So how is it in a capitalist free market economy that I can even do this for a living? Well because I am willing to manipulate theory and play loose with statistics in a way that will engaged peoples imagination. Even better is if I can have them imagine I am saving the world!
By the way, I have devised an asteroid shield. It is a buffer of specialized paper I will use to basically catch and muffle the impact. There is an even greater chance it will work than that of an asteroid hitting the earth, so I feel it is imperative we build it. Luckily the specialized paper is the same type dollar bills are made of. So if you could simply send me 4 or 5 and get some of your friends, and their friends to do the same you could also feel the joy of saving the earth. I will build the sheild with the dollars leftover after I buy a six pack of lonestar beer.
-- lates
-- jrawk
I nominate you for:
!!!!!!!POST OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!POST OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!POST OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!POST OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!POST OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!
With little time left in the year you could win!
HOORAY!
-- lates
-- jrawk
Thanks for posting that. I was trying to recall the details. I love the part about being detected AFTER it passed by.
And things have hit the earth before with dire results-end of the dino's was probably due to an impact. Of course, that one worked out okay for us!
Even with all of our technology, robotic computerized scopes, professional observatory's, thousands of high end amateur scopes, satellites, and imaging techniques, an asteroid could still impact this planet without being detected first. Even a large asteroid could surprise us, however, the larger they are, the more likely they would be detected in advance. How far in advance is anyones guess.
I think this is vey series
LOL so true. Bottom line, someone is looking for funding at the expense of the worry warts. God is in control and monies and studies will not change its course.
While that method would not move the NEO very much, when it's tens of millions of miles away, it doesn't have to move very much at all to generate a significant miss. It's a good idea.
Increased surface area reduces the impact due to greater loss of mass during atmospheric entry.
Such a hit could happen with only a few weeks notice because an asteroid may not be visible because it is in front of the sun. Currently only the USA is working on ways to divert asteriods. The project has a small budget. The prospect of blasting an asteriod to bits is not a good one, it could break into pieces and hit the earth at many points.
The best idea comes from a single scientist who thinks that a ship could be built that has the same action as a tug boat. The space ship would come along side the rock and drag it out of the earth's path by means of a giant claw like grasping mechanism.
It's a long range plan. Until then....we are just in harm's way. It's no joke. A giant asteroid could hit us and there's nothing we can do about it right now.
Uh, has anyone notified Captain Kirk?
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