Posted on 02/16/2013 1:39:21 PM PST by JerseyanExile
The House Science, Space and Technology Committee will hold a hearing on how to “better identify and address asteroids that pose a potential threat to Earth,” Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said in a statement on Friday.
The announcement comes after a meteorite exploded in a massive blast above Siberia that damaged buildings, houses and cars and injured about 1,000 people on Friday.
"The light was so intense that it completely illuminated the courtyard of our apartment block," said Sergei Zakharov, head of the Russian Geographical Society in Chelyabinsk, according to The Wall Street Journal. "The sound, the shock wave came around six minutes later. No one could understand what had happened. I'd compare it to the explosion of a large flare bomb."
The blast was unrelated to another rare meteorological event on Friday — a 150-foot-long asteroid passed within 17,000 miles of Earth. It’s the closest encounter of its kind on record, passing within the orbit of many man-made satellites.
“Today’s events are a stark reminder of the need to invest in space science,” Smith said. “Asteroid 2012 DA14 passed just 17,000 miles from Earth, less than the distance of a round trip from New York to Sydney. And this morning, a much smaller meteorite hit near the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, damaging buildings and injuring hundreds."
"Developing technology and research that enable us to track objects like Asteroid 2012 DA14 is critical to our future," Smith said. "We should continue to invest in systems that identify threatening asteroids and develop contingencies, if needed, to change the course of an asteroid headed toward Earth.”
What’s wrong with worrying about it?
Not that our elected representatives care, but most Americans would prefer that they spend their tenure attending to that which IS the legitimate business of Congress!
Did our Congress become experts in "identifying and addressing asteroids that pose a potential threat to Earth" before or after they became experts on athletes using performance enhancing drugs?
They would rather do anything than work on the fact that we are broke and on our way to becoming Greece.
Is keeping some outside agency from killing you a legitimate business of Congress?
Another scam! I wish that meteor had hit the right place
I think things are going to be different in the future. We’ve never seen so much interest from private industry and if NASA brings the private sector in for a serious look at this it will spur greater private investment.
While I’m glad to see the private sector contracting with government for transportation, private industry in space will be the next big leap.
The liberal threat to this country is far more dangerous than some stupid asteroid.
Nothing at all wrong with worrying about it, I worry about it all the time. I also worry about dying of cancer, but I would resent it if incompetent, unqualified people forced me against my will to pay them to protect me from getting cancer. Especially when they have proven time and time again they are totally incapable of solving lesser problems.
Now these massive egotists are going to tax us in order to subvert the laws of physics and defend us against what what has been going on in the universe since the dawn of time.
Its as if Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to find the passage west and they got as far as the Mississippi and decided to go back and explore Kentucky.
I thought CNN said it was a global warming thingy. To late now.
Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t picture any of these congresscritters being tasked with bringing the potato salad to the annual Mensa picnic.
They’ll call it “the ass tax” everyone who has one will be taxed.
The House can do something about Sequestration.
They have not power to end, or prevent the end, of human civilization.
That power belongs to God.
Holding "committees" about the "asteroid threat" is sheer lunacy and folly.
And asteroids are coming to humanity (among a whole host of other horrific things), because of our sin and the judgment of God.
See Revelation Chapter 8.
A bunch of astronomers worldwide should ban together and release a report that the next bolide to hit earth will be upon Mecca, watch then the firestorm of projects to stop any new meteorites!
What a joke.
Will there be a Congressional hearing on sunrise?
I guess another of those ‘you don’t professionalize until you Federalize’ moments
HOW many amateur astronomers are there across the globe? In its current state, I wouldn’t trust NASA to put a high altitude balloon up without issue(s).
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