Scientists wake up to meteor threat ancient Greeks knew about 2500 years ago

examiner.com ^ | October 8, 2013

[BenLurkin]

60 Minutes news program ran a segment entitled "Dangerous game of 'cosmic roulette'?" This segment highlighted the NASA program aimed at finding and tracking asteroids whose orbits cross Earth's thus placing them on a collision course with us. The NASA administrators at first bragged about how they knew with confidence about 95% of all the "major" threats to our planet and were currently tracking these threats. These administrators were clearly trying to convey to the public an attitude of "don't worry, we have it all under control."

Yet as with most statements by government bureaucrats the devil is in the details. The "major" threats were defined as asteroids large enough to destroy all life on Earth. Thus asteroids large enough to merely wipe out a continent and destroy "life as we know it" were simply not being tracked yet. And asteroids large enough to wipe out a major metropolitan area were also not being tracked. And meteors the size of the one that blew up over Russia earlier this year were also not being tracked. And when confronted on these facts the NASA administrators were forced to concede the point that we could get hit tomorrow by a devastating asteroid without any warning whatsoever.

[BenLurkin]

“There have been, and will be again, many destructions of mankind arising out of many causes; the greatest have been brought about by the agencies of fire and water, and other lesser ones by innumerable other causes.

“There is a story, which even you have preserved, that once upon a time Phaethon, the son of Helios, having yoked the steeds in his father’s chariot, because he was not able to drive them in the path of his father, burnt up all that was upon the earth, and was himself destroyed by a thunderbolt. Now this has the form of a myth, but really signifies a declination of the bodies moving in the heavens around the earth, and a great conflagration of things upon the earth, which recurs after long intervals;...

“Whereas just when you and other nations are beginning to be provided with letters and the other requisites of civilized life, after the usual interval, the stream from heaven, like a pestilence, comes pouring down, and leaves only those of you who are destitute of letters and education; and so you have to begin all over again like children, and know nothing of what happened in ancient times...”

Plato

[meatloaf]

The Earth orbits the Sun. The Sun orbits the galactic center which takes about 250 million years. Ever wonder what the Earth encounters during that time? I doubt NASA does either.

For extra credit, how does that affect climate?

[1010RD]

Wow, great quote. I’d never read it before. It’s interesting how both the devil and liberals long to destroy history and the knowledge of it or maybe it’s not interesting, but expected.

[Fungi]

What book was this in?

[Robert A Cook PE]

I will remind all gentle readers that, once the Ark had landed back on solid ground, the Lord did promise Noah that He would never again destroy the world by water.

Didn’t say a thing about fire. 8<)

[cripplecreek]

“Whereas just when you and other nations are beginning to be provided with letters and the other requisites of civilized life, after the usual interval, the stream from heaven, like a pestilence, comes pouring down, and leaves only those of you who are destitute of letters and education;

Sounds like he understood that cities suffer the brunt of cataclysm. I interpret it as meaning those with little to begin with tend to be survivors.

However there is a lot of common knowledge these days that isn't easily lost. Even a lowly high school dropout like myself can give a fair explanation of lift and even demonstrate how it works.

[cripplecreek]

Pol Pot went on an extermination spree of the educated people.

[BenLurkin]

I got it from the article at the link.

[UCANSEE2]

Like Phoenix rising from the ashes (all stories have a message), even if the end of 'life' on Earth comes, it will start over.

It's already happened at least six times, as a conservative estimate.

[BenLurkin]

Indeed. The duck dynasty survives. The kardashians...not so much.

[UCANSEE2]

What would happen to Earth if a fairly large meteor hit the Moon ?

[Irenic]

http://www.edgarcayce.org/_AncientMysteriesTemp/platosstory.html

[EEGator]

It depends on the size and rate of the meteor. Quite possibly one hell of a high tide.

[Dogbert41]

Or no more tide...

[MHGinTN]

We could get pelted with ejecta, too.

[Vince Ferrer]

Also left out in this is if they know about an asteroid, what can they do about it? Nothing.

[EEGator]

True. Pretty much not a whole lot of not good.

[EEGator]

Bruce. Willis.

[gusopol3]

Didn’t mention this one, probably politically incorrect:

Genesis 19:4 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;

25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord:

28 And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.

29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.