Amadeus Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 On April 13, 2029, an asteroid named "99942 Apophis" will pass earth at a distance of only 22,600 miles - that's about 1/10 of the distance between the earth and the moon, and it will even be visible to the naked eye, so it's rather very close in space terms.. The little bugger, 1,000-foot wide, is one of more than 600 known objects posing a possible threat to our planet at the moment, and although it is not capable of wiping out the entire planet, it would still cause around $400 billion in damage if it decides to have a closer look at how we live... Although scientists have already calculated that it will miss us on it's initial pass, there's a 1-in-15,000 chance that the earth's gravitational field will alter it's course and cause it to crash onto the blue planet in 2036. On average, only once every 1300 years does an asteroid come this close to earth and NASA is already considering to tag it with a radio beacon before 2013, in order to be able to gather more precise information and plan a possible deflection mission. So basically, if you're planing to take out a new mortgage soon, think again - with the words of one scientist: "A frequent flier probably would not want to board an airliner if there's a 1-in-10,000 chance it's going to crash" And 1-in-10,000 are the odds for a collision if the asteroid hits all the right gravitational "sweet spots" around our planet when it passes by... On the web: Dome of the Sky CSmonitor.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 In ten years we'll have an asteroid busting commander dearing in a tight blue space suit driving a starfighter with a shuttle pilot from the 20th century as her wingman. Relax. See the recent evidence that it was volcanos that wiped out the dino's, not an asteroid as previously throught. The biggest threats to our lives are under our feet! And you've still got more chance of being mowed down by a car than being hit by an asteroid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alriteyessir Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 yep the caldera (supervolcano) at yellowstone national park is overdue an eruption so don't get a mortgage folks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted August 18, 2005 Author Share Posted August 18, 2005 yep the caldera (supervolcano) at yellowstone national park is overdue an eruption so don't get a mortgage folks <{POST_SNAPBACK}> veeeeryyy funny.. I didn't mean to cause some kind of "Ohmygodtheworldisgoingtoend" panic, but just thought that it was an interesting news piece, especially as NASA seems to have acknowlegded it, and they probably won't draw up contingency plans for any old rock out there.. Am I right in remembering that the mentioned volcano underneath yellowstone is actually under constant observation at the moment? Who knows what mother nature has in store for us.. Let's wait and see! (and maybe don't take out a mortgage near that area.. ) And in case you haven't seen the (pretty amazing) new picture of our universe in the papers yesterday, here it is again - I think it's entirely possible that some tiny little object in there may be on the way to us ("tiny" as in: tiny enough to wipe us out) - the big question is, would they really tell everyone about it? (and don't tell me you never thought about that, especially after certain Hollywood movies were released ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alriteyessir Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 Yep yellowstone constantly monitored site of great geographical importance, but also a top tourist attraction with up to 30,000 visitors a day who reckon its not going to blow immeninently I'm sure the manx and english govt. would keep you informed if a disaster was on the way though Amadues, their usually like to keep the electorate well informed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted August 18, 2005 Author Share Posted August 18, 2005 Yep yellowstone constantly monitored site of great geographical importance, but also a top tourist attraction with up to 30,000 visitors a day who reckon its not going to blow immeninently You did consider the fact that the majority of visitors there are Yanks, and obviously do not count as sane and straight thinking individuals?... I mean, just look who they elected as their President... I'm sure the manx and english govt. would keep you informed if a disaster was on the way though Amadues, their usually like to keep the electorate well informed <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Nevermind the Gov - Sun, Star and Mirror would have a field day with that: "Hey Ed, we sold 200 more copies than the Daily Mail yesterd...BOOOMMMM..." And I think you may find that my self-given name is Amadeus - not that I would be pedantic about that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mortal Wombat Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 oh yeah baby. i wish someopne would touch my gravitational sweet spots. I love mathematicians. no, really. numbers are great. did you know that there's a one in 60,000 chance of me knocking on your front door and lobbing a custard pie at you. well, of course, there isn't, because i am not that way, but, if i was to randomly knock on someone's door and punch them in the face, one in 60,000 says it'll be you. now, of course, if there are 6 of you reading this then the probability is down to one in 10,000. and still, me thinks, it's pretty unlikely it'll be you. frightening people by numbers. 010010101010101 quite frankly i think it's rather rude. *edit* amended my analogy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 And in case you haven't seen the (pretty amazing) new picture of our universe in the papers yesterday, here it is again huh? Whats that picture? It's not the universe, it's a galaxy. And it's not our galaxy either? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted August 19, 2005 Author Share Posted August 19, 2005 And in case you haven't seen the (pretty amazing) new picture of our universe in the papers yesterday, here it is again huh? Whats that picture? It's not the universe, it's a galaxy. And it's not our galaxy either? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ok Ok - it ain't the whole Universe, you're right.. But it's a new picture of the Milky Way Galaxy, and that's where we are, isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted August 19, 2005 Share Posted August 19, 2005 Are you sure? It looks too tightly wound. Where did you get it from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
When Skies Are Grey Posted August 19, 2005 Share Posted August 19, 2005 In ten years we'll have an asteroid busting commander dearing in a tight blue space suit driving a starfighter with a shuttle pilot from the 20th century as her wingman. Relax. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Who? Her? She could pilot my starfigher anytime (no I dont know what that means either) BTW speaking of science did anyone watch the programme on Einstein last night...fascinating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amadeus Posted August 19, 2005 Author Share Posted August 19, 2005 Are you sure? It looks too tightly wound. Where did you get it from? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I saw the pic on the news on telly the other day, and it was also printed in a few newspapers (Express or Mail I think..) - the pic seen above is from Spiegel.de, a German magazine's website, but there are also a few english news sites around that feature the same pic: SeattlePI.com News.com.au It's basically a new image of the milky way, taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and showing that " a long bar of stars cuts on an angle through the center of the galaxy that includes the sun and planet Earth" (from one of above links). Quite an amazing picture, really.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Survivor Posted August 19, 2005 Share Posted August 19, 2005 On April 13, 2029, an asteroid named "99942 Apophis" will pass earth at a distance of only 22,600 miles - that's about 1/10 of the distance between the earth and the moon, and it will even be visible to the naked eye, so it's rather very close in space terms.. I'll put that in my task reminder now - my memory is not what it used to be! there's a 1-in-15,000 chance that the earth's gravitational field will alter it's course and cause it to crash onto the blue planet in 2036. Oooh it's just like Armagedon! I can hear Aerosmith playing already! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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