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Action urged to deal with asteroid likely to hit Earth (Please read and respond to my comment)
Todayonline ^
| 12-08-05
| Guardian
Posted on 12/09/2005 9:07:47 AM PST by emiller
click here to read article
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To: emiller
Apophis - an alien driven space taxi coming to take all believers away.
Get your spankin' white Nikes, jogging suit, and poisoned pudding ready.
This was the ride that the Heaven's Gate crew wanted. They nixed themselves for the wrong rock.
21
posted on
12/09/2005 9:15:29 AM PST
by
Sax
Comment #22 Removed by Moderator
To: emiller
Is George Noory all over this?
I was driving and listening to him the other night...do you ever notice that he can have a guest that will blab on and on for an hour, and then at the end, you have slightest idea what the hell he was talking about? George always seems to know though, as his gobbledygook questions always elicit such enthusiasm from the guest.
23
posted on
12/09/2005 9:16:47 AM PST
by
dinoparty
(In the beginning was the Word)
To: emiller
There's not a thing we could do about it anyway.
However, the chances of this thing hitting us in the foreseeable future are about 1 in 8000 so I wouldn't get too upset.
To: BurbankKarl; KevinDavis
25
posted on
12/09/2005 9:17:03 AM PST
by
LucyT
To: emiller
Read the Bible to see how the world ends.
To: emiller
Perhaps they may believe we would panic, but stopping a large asteroid from impacting Earth would require tremendous resources, and the governments would need to let the people know where all their money was going.
There may be initial panic, and the stock market would hate it, but I feel the panic would be short lived. I feel that with enough focus and resources, we could come up with a solution in 30 years.
To: dinoparty
According to
Space Daily, "Only about three Earth diameters will separate Apophis and Earth when the 400-meter asteroid hurtles by Earth's gravity, which will twist the object into a complex wobbling rotation [in 2029]."
To: emiller
It depends on if we mean 390 meters or 390 miles. If its meters, then I suggest a layered defense.
We will need a robotic spacecraft capable of moving to an asteroid. Instead of carrying a robot to study it, it needs to carry the most powerful hydrogen bomb as can be lifted by the vehicle. Send on bomb directly towards it and detonate it short of the rock, with intent to deflect. Also, send several bombs towards the paths the rock may take after being deflected by the first blast, so you'll have one in place to detonate no matter which way it goes. Simultaneously send numerous bombs in a dispersal from the Earth towards the asteroid, and do this in three or more layers. Detonate these in sequence to vaporize the smaller particles as they pass near these lines of bombs. By the time whats left of the asteroid gets close to earth, hopefully what's left of it can be vaporized by earth's atmopshere.
29
posted on
12/09/2005 9:19:39 AM PST
by
JamesP81
To: emiller
On the Torino impact hazard scale, this has been assigned a 1.
Normal (Green Zone) 1. A routine discovery in which a pass near the Earth is predicted that poses no unusual level of danger. Current calculations show the chance of collision is extremely unlikely with no cause for public attention or public concern. New telescopic observations very likely will lead to re-assignment to Level 0.
30
posted on
12/09/2005 9:19:58 AM PST
by
KarlInOhio
(In memory of Alvin Owen, Thsai-Shai Yang, Yen-I Yang and Yee Chen Lin:the victims of Tookie Williams)
To: emiller
Something my friends and I have been discussing lately...You need some new friends and get back on your meds.
31
posted on
12/09/2005 9:20:47 AM PST
by
elbucko
To: dinoparty
I agree, the odds of this asteroid hitting the Earth are pretty high and I'm not sweating it
at this point, but remember we will be hit again sooner or later.
You might want to read Lucifer's Hammer by Pournelle and Niven. A comet was heading towards Earth, but the odds against it hitting were billions to one. Then, millions to one, then...
32
posted on
12/09/2005 9:21:09 AM PST
by
magslinger
(At the end of the day the only truly educated people are autodidacts.)
To: emiller
What an incredible coincience!
The earth has existed for billions of years, and - wouldn't you know it - as soon as we start looking out there for things that might hit us, it turns out we find one!
/sarc
To: jimtorr
With 30 years lead time, I'm not going to worry about it. If we are ever capable of deflecting an asteroid, 25 years from now is the time to worry. Or more accurately, 24 years from now. That's when this asteroid is set to approach close enough for the Earth's gravity to possibly alter its trajectory enough to hit on the pass in 2036 - if it goes through a 'keyhole' in space about 641m wide.
To: emiller
excerpt-1: "Scientists are monitoring the progress of a 390m-wide asteroid " excerpt-2: "However, a NEO larger than 1km (wide) will collide with Earth every few hundred thousand years and a NEO larger than 6km, which could cause mass extinction..." Apophis is 390m wide, or .39km. What is the damage estimation from this? I don't believe it is even close catastrophic for the world (although it would suck to live in the region of impact)
35
posted on
12/09/2005 9:22:15 AM PST
by
z3n
To: emiller
Ummm, what exactly are we supposed to do about it anyway, politely ask it to move a little to one side or the other? Any real solution would probably involve some sort of nuclear warhead mounted on a space-bound missile, and even that's probably the stuff of bad sci-fi movies. As if the liberals would allow us to build the nuke or the missile in the first place even if it were possible.
Barring that, I guess we're left with the typical leftist "solution" - create a huge new bureaucracy to "study the problem", impose a global tax to fund it, and then sit around pissing and moaning and hysterically screeching "We're DOOMED!!!!" Oh, and blame it on Bush and Halliburton, of course.
36
posted on
12/09/2005 9:22:24 AM PST
by
CFC__VRWC
("Anytime a liberal squeals in outrage, an angel gets its wings!" - gidget7)
To: emiller
Ok so say it does hit, chances are it will hit water right, let's look at the bright side, the tidal wave to follow will at least take out half of our liberals - see there is a silver lining in every cloud right? (Sarc off)
37
posted on
12/09/2005 9:22:24 AM PST
by
kentj
To: GregoTX
"There goes the neighborhood. I was thinking about moving anyway."
LOL! Wonder what the impact will be on the housing market?!
And of course, when it hits, I'm sure women and children will be hit hardest!
To: RightWhale; Brett66; xrp; gdc314; sionnsar; anymouse; RadioAstronomer; NonZeroSum; jimkress; ...
It won't hit... Asteriods threat is one of the reason why I support human colonization on differet planets.
39
posted on
12/09/2005 9:23:40 AM PST
by
KevinDavis
(http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
To: Pessimist; All
The bigger question is what is Bush doing about this???
40
posted on
12/09/2005 9:24:35 AM PST
by
KevinDavis
(http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
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