Author Topic: You got 17 years, plan accordingly (Read 512 times)

Ripsnort · « **on:** July 24, 2002, 08:54:31 AM »

Asteroid on collision course with Earth:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2147879.stm

Sandman · « **Reply #1 on:** July 24, 2002, 09:06:52 AM »

Even less... more like 16.7 years.

Don't plan for more than you have time for.

Ozark · « **Reply #2 on:** July 24, 2002, 09:27:04 AM »

That's just great! My mortgage will be paid off in 16.6 years.

Nifty · « **Reply #3 on:** July 24, 2002, 09:53:04 AM »

hmm, at least we can get in 4 more World Cups! Maybe the USA can win one before it's ALL over!

hehe, good journalism, Rip!

you left out potentially from "on collision course" The one guy said the error right now is on the order of 10's of millions of kilometers. That's much farther than the one that passed by us not too long ago, isn't it?

Sandman · « **Reply #4 on:** July 24, 2002, 09:54:53 AM »

It's the alarmist media rubbing off on him.

Then again... This is the biggest threat astronomers have ever found.

Quote

Astronomers have given the object a rating on the so-called Palermo technical scale of threat of 0.06, making NT7 the first object to be given a positive value.

Ripsnort · « **Reply #5 on:** July 24, 2002, 10:01:42 AM »

Its Hollywood! I'm a victim!

Nifty · « **Reply #6 on:** July 24, 2002, 10:06:19 AM »

Once again, in the short history of actually looking for threats. I wonder if they had discovered the one that just past close by years ago (if they were looking and this Palermo scale existed back then) what it would have registered on. Now I gotta go look up and find how close it actually came.

edit: ahh, it was estimated at 480,000 km when it passed, but it was much smaller than NT7 (80 m vs 2000m)

Ripsnort · « **Reply #7 on:** July 24, 2002, 10:10:30 AM »

Quote

"Sooner or later -- and no one can really tell us which it will be -- we will find an object that is on a collision course. That is as certain as "Amen" in church. And eventually we will have to deflect an object from its collision course," he said.

From another story detailing the same asteroid...

Charon · « **Reply #8 on:** July 24, 2002, 10:11:01 AM »

This is one area, that for a minimum outlay of resources we could significantly reduce our chances of extinction. But no one seems to care. Sure the odds are high, but it will happen again, maybe tomorrow, maybe in 10 million years. With my luck...

Charon

hawk220 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 24, 2002, 10:20:16 AM »

whew...good thing i kept all my Y2K stuff!

Ripsnort · « **Reply #10 on:** July 24, 2002, 10:22:22 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by hawk220
whew...good thing i kept all my Y2K stuff!

Better do what I do, rotate that stock every 2 years, or you'll kill yourself!

lazs2 · « **Reply #11 on:** July 24, 2002, 10:43:19 AM »

kilometer? is that a florida measurement? is it very far?
lazs

air_guard · « **Reply #12 on:** July 24, 2002, 10:55:07 AM »

That one we know about is no big deal, we got 17 years to do somthing with it, but the ones we dunnot see is a much more dangerous problem

and just in case i convert the money i got for the house 2 years ago into dope and have fun the rest of my life rofl

Sandman · « **Reply #13 on:** July 29, 2002, 10:51:24 AM »

Looks like it's going to miss us this time around...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2158898.stm

Ripsnort · « **Reply #14 on:** July 29, 2002, 11:00:27 AM »

Cool! However, in 2019 I will still be retired (I hope!) in Montana with my stockpiles of food, water, medicine(good thing the wifes a nurse!) and plenty of ammo!