Posted on 09/07/2014 5:37:19 AM PDT by John W
On Sunday afternoon — at 2:15 pm Eastern time, to be exact — a small asteroid will whiz by the Earth.
Don't worry: it'll miss us by about 25,000 miles. To be clear, there is zero chance it can hit us. This is certain.
But in the long-term, worrying a little about asteroids isn't an unreasonable idea. Now, the odds of a massively destructive asteroid impact at any given time are tiny — but the potential costs would be enormous. Yet we still haven't invested in all the infrastructure needed to spot small asteroids with much warning (we spotted this one less than a week ago). And we've done nothing to develop the ability to divert a larger one if it threatened us.
We'll be totally fine on Sunday — in fact, the asteroid will be small and far enough away that you won't be able to see it without a telescope. But it'd be great if we can use this sort of near-miss to rouse us from our species-wide slumber, and make asteroid detection more of a priority.
(Excerpt) Read more at vox.com ...
Bla bla bla bla. Chances of a big enough asteroid hitting Earth are next to nil. The outer big planets are magnetic walls that change the course of most incoming objects away from Earth. The asteroid belt makes rocks coming from outside the solar system shoot off in like flippers on a pinball machine.
The only threats are outside the solar system, they may be on an intercept course for Earth. But the big gravity wells in our solar system change that when they get close enough.
Hope it hits Mecca.
No, man caused climate change will kill us all first, besides these asteroids are just another effect of man caused climate change and could be prevented if we had a socialist world government. (major sarcasm)
Uh... there’s tons of old, giant craters all over earth. I’m pretty sure those planets were around then as well.
Also, check the Cheyablinsk(sp?) meteor from last year.
I'd say the chances are 100% it will get hit sometime in the next billion years.
>>could be prevented if we had a socialist world government. (major sarcasm)
Down at the end of the story, the writer suggests that (in a roundabout way).
Vox, the place where adolescent crybabies can pretend to be journalists.
>>The meteorite posing the greatest existential threat to the world landed a long time ago...
Ding Ding.....the Winner of the Thread!
How about San Francisco?
That is a lot closer than the moon.
The greatest existential threat to America is Barack Obama. He is destroying the country as we type this morning
I’m thinking more of a Godzilla thing for San Fran. You know, targeted fire breathing and all that.
You really haven't thought the physics of this situation through all the way, have you?
major sarcasm
**********
Major funny too. Good post! Points out the extreme irrationality of liberal hysteria. They always use fearmongering to justify the expansion of government.
“I’d say the chances are 100% it will get hit sometime in the next billion years.”
Well, I’M not hanging around to see.
Its the only thing he has ever succeeded at. He is like a cyclone that destroys everything in its path.
Anybody need 500lbs of rice?
Somebody gets its!
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