7/4 Posted December 26, 2004 Report Posted December 26, 2004 And then there's: Scientist: Asteroid May Hit Earth in 2029 Thu Dec 23, 5:40 PM ET By JOHN ANTCZAK, Associated Press Writer LOS ANGELES - There's a 1-in-300 chance that a recently discovered asteroid, believed to be about 1,300 feet long, could hit Earth in 2029, a NASA (news - web sites) scientist said Thursday, but he added that the perceived risk probably will be eliminated once astronomers get more detail about its orbit. There have been only a limited number of sightings of Asteroid 2004 MN4, which has been given an initial rating of 2 on the 10-point Torino Impact Hazard Scale used by astronomers to predict asteroid or comet impacts, said Donald Yeomans, manager of the Near Earth Object Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. No previously observed asteroid has been graded higher than 1. On Friday, April 13, 2029, "we can't yet rule out an Earth impact," Yeomans said. "But the impact probability, as we call it, is 300-to-1 against an impact." The asteroid was discovered in June and rediscovered this month. "This is not a problem for anyone and it shouldn't be a concern to anyone, but whenever we post one of these things and ... somebody gets ahold of it, it just gets crazy," he said. "In the unlikely event that it did hit, it would be quite serious. We're talking either a tsunami if it hit in the ocean, which would be likely, or significant ground damage," Yeomans said. Its estimated size has been inferred from its brightness, which assumes that its reflectivity is similar to other asteroids that have been observed. At about 1,320 feet in length, it would have about 1,600 megatons of energy, Yeomans said. Asteroid 2004 MN4 takes less than a year to go all the way around the sun and on each orbit it passes by Earth's orbit twice, Yeomans said. It is also nearly on the same plane as Earth's orbit. The asteroid will be visible for the next several months and the NEO program has alerted its network of ground-based observers to include 2004 MN4 in their searches. Yeomans said there have now been about 40 observations, first from the observatory at Kitt Peak, near Tucson, Ariz., and this month from Australia and New Zealand. Quote
dave9199 Posted December 27, 2004 Report Posted December 27, 2004 Maybe by then the Miles Davis Legacy series will be done! Quote
couw Posted December 27, 2004 Report Posted December 27, 2004 Yeomans said a lot, I wonder who ate the editor Quote
Brad Posted December 27, 2004 Report Posted December 27, 2004 Well, I'll be 79 then so I better get ready. Quote
Herb Posted December 27, 2004 Report Posted December 27, 2004 "The sky is falling......." I'll also be 79. Lots of time to get worked up over it. Quote
sidewinder Posted December 27, 2004 Report Posted December 27, 2004 The Mosaics will have to go up in the Space Station I guess ! Quote
BruceH Posted December 27, 2004 Report Posted December 27, 2004 "Asteroid May Hit Earth In 2029" Promises, promises..... Quote
DTMX Posted December 27, 2004 Report Posted December 27, 2004 Just my luck - I'll be 65, ready to retire, and a damn asteroid has to come along and hit the Earth. On the other hand, I won't have to worry about outliving my money... Quote
Quincy Posted December 27, 2004 Report Posted December 27, 2004 Just my luck - I'll be 65, ready to retire, and a damn asteroid has to come along and hit the Earth. On the other hand, I won't have to worry about outliving my money... I thought they should have run the story with the headline "Social Security Crisis Solved!" Quote
porcy62 Posted December 27, 2004 Report Posted December 27, 2004 (edited) I think Bruce Willis will be too old for the job then... Edited December 27, 2004 by porcy62 Quote
porcy62 Posted December 27, 2004 Report Posted December 27, 2004 (edited) What about Ben Affleck? Nah, I think this guy is our man... Edited December 27, 2004 by porcy62 Quote
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