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Space Rock 2009 DD45 Buzzes Earth

danarhea

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An asteroid just made a near miss of Earth, after being discovered 3 days ago. Had it hit us, though, it would not have been the end of the world, since this rock is only about 100 feet across. But traveling at 40k MPH, it would have done some regional damage, similar to the 1918 hit in Siberia. Earth was actually hit by an asteroid last October, but that rock was only the size of a car, and exploded in the atmosphere before it had a chance to hit the ground.

Nope, no world coming to an end here, but it is something to think about, and having a way to destroy or deflect near Earth objects would make me feel a lot safer. You never know when a civilization changing object might be discovered, maybe only hours before civilization does change due to its hitting Earth. IMHO - This is a project that the whole world should get behind, no matter what differences we have. If we put them aside for something this important, then the human race as we know it will deserve to continue.

Now lets go nuke each other out of existence. :mrgreen:
 
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I'm not worried. Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck and a gang of scruffy yet lovable oil drillers will have our back.
 
Earth possesses nothing that could give us advanced warning and destructive capability to take out an asteroid travelling that close, and that fast. Our tin cans orbitting the Earth can be destroyed by micro-debris from the rest of the trash floating out there. If an asteroid is going to wipe us out, there is zero we can do about it.
 
I always keep my space ship running on idle for just such emergencies.
 
Jupiter is our friend and protector from meteors, not God.
 
But Jupiter is a God!
 
Why spend money on a space ship then you only need a towel?

The space ship gives me a bit more control. I did the towel thing for a while. It was pretty cool, except for some of the ****holes I ended up on, especially when stowing aboard Volgon ships. But, we all know how that goes. ;)
 
That rock missed by 45,000 miles! That boys and girls is by all standards a close call. If that would have hit it would be equal 10,000 Hiroshimas. I was not aware it came that close. If President Reagan was still alive he would have diverted it to Planet Mongol, home of Ming The Merciless (what a great name).
 
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Imagine the fun Babi Jindahl would have had if the budget included money to study approaching asteroids?
 
That rock missed by 45,000 miles! That boys and girls is by all standards a close call. If that would have hit it would be equal 10,000 Hiroshimas. I was not aware it came that close. If President Reagan was still alive he would have diverted it to Planet Mongol, home of Ming The Merciless (what a great name).

Actually, this particular rock would have been equal to one or two hiroshimas. It was only 100 feet across. The damage caused by this rock would have been equivalent to the Siberian Tunguska Event of 1908 - Definitely big enough to annihilate a major city, but not large enough to threaten the world in any way.
 
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