close call with an asteroid, and they didn't even know what to do???!!??

[ABEL]

this is kinda scary to know that there was no 'formal' plan in place!

here's a paragraph from a story a friend sent me

An unprecedented asteroid scare in January had astronomers worried for a few hours over a rock that had a 1-in-4 chance of hitting Earth during the next few days. At the time, some of the scientists were unsure who should be notified. The event has prompted NASA to set up a formal process for notifying top officials in the future of any impending impacts, SPACE.com has learned.

The plan, which has existed on an informal basis for months but was not known to all the key scientists involved, could be put out for review this summer and finalized by the end of the year.

the rest can be found in an article at yahoo news:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...e/asteroidscarepromptsnasatoformalizeresponse

 

[melon]

It is unrealistic to expect that we can protect against objects that fly by at 100,000+ miles an hour. Granted, we know of some asteroids, but, like the above, most are unknown to us, and, in terms of short notice like the above, there is virtually no chance of intercepting it.

One of the possible ways we could nail these objects is for that advanced SDI initiative ("Star Wars") to be built in space, but, in spite of the politics surrounding the project, is nowhere near being anything more than some politician's fantasy.

Melon

 

[BVS]

I say we just send Ben Affleck to save the day.

 

[STING2]

It is unrealistic to expect that we can protect against objects that fly by at 100,000+ miles an hour. Granted, we know of some asteroids, but, like the above, most are unknown to us, and, in terms of short notice like the above, there is virtually no chance of intercepting it.

One of the possible ways we could nail these objects is for that advanced SDI initiative ("Star Wars") to be built in space, but, in spite of the politics surrounding the project, is nowhere near being anything more than some politician's fantasy.

Melon

Thats not so. More money needs to be spent to locate and track all of these rocks. There are plenty of ways these things can be prevented from hitting the earth and doing damage, but it requires detection first and then plans to either destroy or move off course the incoming rock.

I'd rather see the money being spent to send a man to Mars to be spent on this.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I say we just send Ben Affleck to save the day.

someone beat me to it...

 

[melon]

Thats not so. More money needs to be spent to locate and track all of these rocks. There are plenty of ways these things can be prevented from hitting the earth and doing damage, but it requires detection first and then plans to either destroy or move off course the incoming rock.

I'd rather see the money being spent to send a man to Mars to be spent on this.

Actually, you're misinterpreting my intentions. Currently, it is impossible to detect all of these asteroids, and if a large asteroid was found to be in the path of Earth within a year, I question whether even then we could stop it.

However, I agree that we should continue to catalog these space objects, and I highly support space exploration, as it would be foolish to deny all the progress we have made because of what we have learned in space.

I am also perturbed that NASA is giving the Hubble Space Telescope a death sentence by refusing to repair it. Of course, not only should they repair it, because of what we can continue to learn from it, but because if they don't, it threatens to go out of control and hurdle itself uncontrolled into Earth's atmosphere, where it may survive and hit somewhere on Earth.

Melon

 

[BVS]

Thats not so. More money needs to be spent to locate and track all of these rocks. There are plenty of ways these things can be prevented from hitting the earth and doing damage, but it requires detection first and then plans to either destroy or move off course the incoming rock.

I'd rather see the money being spent to send a man to Mars to be spent on this.

I think there come a point of figuring out your priorities. If you spend all your money on security if it be security from terrorist or security from asteroids THERE will be a point when there is nothing left to secure. We will have spent all our money on missiles and lasers and then realize our children's education, environment, and our everyday basic rights have been ignored and we'll end up devouring ourself before any war or asteroid can.

Somethings I think should be left as "acts of God".

 

[STING2]

Actually, you're misinterpreting my intentions. Currently, it is impossible to detect all of these asteroids, and if a large asteroid was found to be in the path of Earth within a year, I question whether even then we could stop it.

However, I agree that we should continue to catalog these space objects, and I highly support space exploration, as it would be foolish to deny all the progress we have made because of what we have learned in space.

I am also perturbed that NASA is giving the Hubble Space Telescope a death sentence by refusing to repair it. Of course, not only should they repair it, because of what we can continue to learn from it, but because if they don't, it threatens to go out of control and hurdle itself uncontrolled into Earth's atmosphere, where it may survive and hit somewhere on Earth.

Melon

From what I have read it is possible to detect all astroids that could do "massive" damage to the planet. But it requires increasing the funding of several different programs. The inability to dectect or destroy or divert these objects simply means there needs to be more funding of these programs.

 

[STING2]

I think there come a point of figuring out your priorities. If you spend all your money on security if it be security from terrorist or security from asteroids THERE will be a point when there is nothing left to secure. We will have spent all our money on missiles and lasers and then realize our children's education, environment, and our everyday basic rights have been ignored and we'll end up devouring ourself before any war or asteroid can.

Somethings I think should be left as "acts of God".

I don't think God would be pleased if people did not use their God given ability to protect the only planet known to have life on it.

The United States has the 7th highest standard of living in the world. Childerns education, the environment, and basic rights have not been ignored.

The amount of money to prevent a disaster with Astroids is tiny compared to the dustruction such and astroid would bring.

 

[anitram]

I don't think God would be pleased if people did not use their God given ability to protect the only planet known to have life on it.

Should we ban Hummers and SUVs? How about individually wrapped candy? Or styrofoam takeout containers?

I mean, we're not protecting the planet now - how many species are dying daily? Oil is running out. We're destroying the rain forests, soil is eroding in many parts of the world, the polar ice caps are an issue, etc.

 

[A_Wanderer]

I think that the only way for mankind to guarantee its survival is to populate other planets within our solar system and eventually (I really really wish) the galaxy. There may be a way to travel faster than the speed of light but until we can reconcile QM with General Relativity or come up with a better theory we may never know.

 

[BVS]

I don't think God would be pleased if people did not use their God given ability to protect the only planet known to have life on it.

The United States has the 7th highest standard of living in the world. Childerns education, the environment, and basic rights have not been ignored.

The amount of money to prevent a disaster with Astroids is tiny compared to the dustruction such and astroid would bring.

The cost compared to the frequency and liklihood doesn't make sence to me when I take a look at the world around me. I there are more dire issues to handle first, that's all.

 

[verte76]

Declare it a UFO...........JOKE! JOKE!

 

[STING2]

The cost compared to the frequency and liklihood doesn't make sence to me when I take a look at the world around me. I there are more dire issues to handle first, that's all.

I doubt you'll saying that if 10 years from now the planet is hit with an Astroid the size of the one that wiped out the dinosours. To spend a few hundred million dollars on this project is more then worth it when you realize that you could potentially save all life on the planet from a disaster.

 

[MrBrau1]

Uncle Leo?