H16512
Headlines : MiscellaneousGodzilla-sized Asteroid to pass within 1.4 lunar distances of Earth on Jan 29
Asteroid TU24, which probably looks like a giant potato about the length of the Sears Tower, will approach Earth to within 334,000 miles (1.4 lunar distances) on January 29, 2008. We had better hope this is an exact science. And, does ‘within’ mean ‘less than’ in this case?
Many have noted an odd silence from the media on this closest-thing-to-a-doomsday asteroid we have experienced since the dawn of the Internet. “2007 TU24 will make the closest approach of any known potentially hazardous asteroid of this size or larger until 2027, NASA said, adding that objects of this size come close to Earth about every five years or so on average.” The last was even closer, in 2004.
Apart from this story by AFP, which was reprinted by a couple dozen newspapers in Australia and South Asia, little has been in the press about this very real event; in fact, not a lot more than the coverage of another NEA that they thought would, but now think won’t, strike Mars two days later. No kidding. The story is here in the Sydney Morning Herald. This could make an excellent case study for journalism ethics class.
To scare yourself silly, just visit this NASA website and move the little dots around their orbits through the magic of Java. Or just watch it on this YouTube video posted by some paranoid dude. Wait – You had better read this first.
[Posted By Beagle17]
Republished from iafrica.com
A huge asteroid will zoom past Earth next week at such a close distance that amateur astronomers should be able to spot it, specialists said on Wednesday.
Measuring between 150 and 600 meters across, asteroid 2007 TU24 would inflict devastating regional damage were it to hit Earth, but there is no risk of any collision, they said.
It will fly by on Tuesday, being around 534,000 kilometers (334,000 miles) from the Earth at its closest point at 0834 GMT, according to a Near Earth Object (NEO) database compiled by the University of Pisa in Italy.
Posted by Beagle17
"RSS here": http://feeds.feedburner.com/GnnBeagle17 Grew up in Nova Scotia. Hold BSc. in Biology and Grad. Diploma Journalism. Moved to Korea in 1997, and Taiwan in 1999. Currently teaching, writing, and doing Web design. Concerned about depleted...
Ah, nothing to worry about. I see no use in worrying about things that are out of our immediate control.
awesome post btw.
Sollog?
You know, maybe it would make more sense to use some of the military budget to watch for things like this and fit some nuclear missiles to be able to knock them off course…
Jews ain’t scared of rocks.
Gamera!
what size is godzilla anyway?
Be sure to pack your lunch on Tuesday!
what size is godzilla anyway
It varies widely depending on the film
what size is godzilla anyway?
My method involves calculating the average weight of several household moths, judging their relative size against the real Mothra, and then calculating the approximate force and mass necessary to fling said moth-creature out to sea (approximately 6.28 Kilometers).
I came up with this asteroid being .84 Godzillas in size (mass). But then, the relative Mothra technique for calculating Godzilla mass has not yet been exposed to peer review.
I didn’t try for volume. Any ideas, fellow imaginary scientists?
If they find that it will collide with earth, will they at least give us some fair warning so I have time to go looting and raping?
Otherwise I may just spend next week in my underground lair with the race of mushroom men I cultivated.
The impact zone will turn to slag within one hundred miles of it. The shock wave will destroy everything in it’s path for a few hundred miles more. Tsunamis will hit coastlines and other seismic events will get in motion.
The heat wave from ejecta will kill beyond for another thousand miles. Plus the dust, risk of of glaciation, etc.
Above all this and much worse, we’ll have to bear with evangelists telling us this is big bonzo’s wrath and judgment.
We may not survive the latter.
I SCARED ASTEROID
and sometimes.. Godzilla“Any ideas, fellow imaginary scientists?”
Try Tango, Snark, or Livingston. They think they’re real smart.
what size is godzilla anyway
yeah, its funny that they reverted to the godzilla scale for size descriptions on this one… its out of date and generally considered useless every since jurassic park part 2.
gamera is really neat he is made of turtle meat
Try Tango, Snark, or Livingston. They think they’re real smart.
meh, i think im way sexier than i am smart
Wow, the delusion is strong in this one, yoda.
I is smart two.
godzilla is a pussy…
I’m a golden retreiver.
oh yea mike ?
well…
eyeyamsighyop