Posted on 04/28/2014 2:50:08 PM PDT by blam
Scientists Have Underestimated The Likelihood Of City-Killing Asteroids Hitting Earth
Reuters
Irene Klotz, Reuters
Apr. 28, 2014, 2:59 PM
The chance of a city-killing asteroid striking Earth is higher than scientists previously believed, a non-profit group building an asteroid-hunting telescope said on Tuesday.
A global network that listens for nuclear weapons detonations detected 26 asteroids that exploded in Earth's atmosphere from 2000 to 2013, data collected by the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization shows.
The explosions include the Feb. 15, 2013, impact over Chelyabinsk, Russia, which left more than 1,000 people injured by flying glass and debris.
"There is a popular misconception that asteroid impacts are extraordinarily rare ... that's incorrect," said former astronaut Ed Lu, who now heads the California-based B612 Foundation.
The foundation on Tuesday released a video visualization of the asteroid strikes in an attempt to raise public awareness of the threat.
Asteroids as small as about 131 feet (40 meters) — less than half the size of an American football field — have the potential to level a city, Lu told reporters on a conference call
"Picture a large apartment building — moving at Mach 50," Lu said.
Mach 50 is 50 times the speed of sound, or roughly 38,000 mph (61,250 kph).
NASA already has a program in place that tracks asteroids larger than 0.65 mile (1 km). An object of this size, roughly equivalent to a small mountain, would have global consequences if it struck Earth.
An asteroid about 6 miles (10 km) in diameter hit Earth some 65 million years ago, triggering climate changes that are believed to have caused the dinosaurs — and most other life on Earth at the time — to die off.
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Maybe they can see about lassoing a tornado!
The chance of a city-killing asteroid striking Earth is higher than scientists previously believed....any chance of steering it to DC?
We’re all gonna die!!
(somebody had to say it. it was my turn)
CC
Who needs an asteroid? Democrats having been destroying cities for years.
If it ain’t this, it’s that and there isn’t a
F’n thing you can do about it.
It is far more likely the roids will hit the ocean and cause a tsunami that could kill several coastal cities.
“City killing asteroids”, so that’s what Democrat mayors are called now.
This is #347 on my list of things to worry about.
It would seem to be once about ever 100 years.
and the last one was in 1917
yes I am serious
Asteroids seeking cities? Sounds Raccccisss.
There should be a ‘Chicken Little’ alert.
If lucky maybe can take out such rat infested cess pools
like Detroit, New Orleans, Chicago......
Solve lot of problems ........
That’s logical, when there is more and more cities and larger populations, the targets for asteroids are larger.
Sounds like a good time for the Government to spent a crapload of money figuring out how to get Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck up there to blow it up.
“We want more money.”
I don’t think scientists underestimated anything.
They have been building NEAR EARTH OBSERVATORIES all over the planet for quite some time now.
You can go to SPACEWEATHER.COM and get the latest data on NEARs and even see their orbits.
Many countries have built huge underground ‘shelters’ just in case an asteroid were found to be headed right at Earth.
Maybe they spend more time preparing, and less time ‘informing’ the public, but... unprepared ?
Well I just attended “Craterfest” in lovely downtown Wetumpka, Al on April 19th. I hope since one has already hit in my neighborhood that it will be like lightening and won’t strike twice...lol
Here’s some info on our local crater:
http://www.auburnastro.org/wetu.htm
Note where that one crashed.
I don’t think it’s by chance it crashed so far north. The worries are overblown.
There are far more, and greater, dangers than a meteorite hitting a city.
Savage invaders from the south invading our cities, is but one example.
Nationalized health insurance, the Environmental Protection Agency................ this list is nearly endless.
Mecca, Qom...
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