Posted on 12/06/2005 6:59:40 PM PST by aculeus
In Egyptian myth, Apophis was the ancient spirit of evil and destruction, a demon that was determined to plunge the world into eternal darkness.
A fitting name, astronomers reasoned, for a menace now hurtling towards Earth from outerspace. Scientists are monitoring the progress of a 390-metre wide asteroid discovered last year that is potentially on a collision course with the planet, and are imploring governments to decide on a strategy for dealing with it.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Good grief! Right on time for the doomsday 2036 predictions I've seen around the web.
We can hope and pray that our representatives in Washington are up to the task and they they'll pass legislation to save us from this potential disaster.
That's a biggin and I might still be breathing by then but great minds follow and will successfully deal with it.
mc
I owe ya one...
Not Earth.
That's where I keep all my stuff.
"At the peak of concern, Apophis asteroid was placed at four out of 10 on the Torino scale - a measure of the threat posed by an NEO where 10 is a certain collision which could cause a global catastrophe. This was the highest of any asteroid in recorded history and it had a 1 in 37 chance of hitting the Earth. The threat of a collision in 2029 was eventually ruled out at the end of last year.
Alan Fitzsimmons, an astronomer from Queen's University Belfast, said: "When it does pass close to us on April 13 2029, the Earth will deflect it and change its orbit. There's a small possibility that if it passes through a particular point in space, the so-called keyhole, ... the Earth's gravity will change things so that when it comes back around again in 2036, it will collide with us." The chance of Apophis passing through the keyhole, a 600-metre patch of space, is 1 in 5,500 based on current information."
I suggest that when the asteroid passes by in 2029, we all get really, really drunk and hope for the best. If things go the wrong way, the whole planet can panic and solve the problem in 7 years.
So should we start a live thread now or wait ?
Kneel before your god!
Wait.
I'm eligible for social security that year.
Will I still get it?
Paging Mr. Willis. Bruce Willis, you have a call on Line 1.
I'll be 86. I think I'll sit on the front stoop and watch it come in.
See me for asteroid insurance.
No you will not...but not because of this asteroid...lol
Bush's Fault!!
Howard Dean will claim if we don't set a timetable to get out of Iraq he will sick the asteroid on us.
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