we're all dead

[cyyz]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070218/sc_ ... ector_dc_5

U.N. urged to take action on asteroid threat

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - An asteroid may come uncomfortably close to Earth in 2036 and the United Nations should assume responsibility for a space mission to deflect it, a group of astronauts, engineers and scientists said on Saturday

Astronomers are monitoring an asteroid named Apophis, which has a 1 in 45,000 chance of striking Earth on April 13, 2036.

Although the odds of an impact by this particular asteroid are low, a recent congressional mandate for NASA to upgrade its tracking of near-Earth asteroids is expected to uncover hundreds, if not thousands of threatening space rocks in the near future, former astronaut Rusty Schweickart said.

"It's not just Apophis we're looking at. Every country is at risk. We need a set of general principles to deal with this issue," Schweickart, a member of the Apollo 9 crew that orbited the earth in March 1969, told an American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in San Francisco.

Schweickart plans to present an update next week to the U.N. Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on plans to develop a blueprint for a global response to an asteroid threat.

The Association of Space Explorers, a group of former astronauts and cosmonauts, intends to host a series of high-level workshops this year to flesh out the plan and will make a formal proposal to the U.N. in 2009, he said.

Schweickart wants to see the United Nations adopt procedures for assessing asteroid threats and deciding if and when to take action.

The favored approach to dealing with a potentially deadly space rock is to dispatch a spacecraft that would use gravity to alter the asteroid's course so it no longer threatens Earth, said astronaut Ed Lu, a veteran of the International Space Station.

The so-called Gravity Tractor could maintain a position near the threatening asteroid, exerting a gentle tug that, over time, would deflect the asteroid.

An asteroid the size of Apophis, which is about 460 feet

long, would take about 12 days of gravity-tugging, Lu added.

Mission costs are estimated at $300 million.

Launching an asteroid deflection mission early would reduce the amount of energy needed to alter its course and increase the chances of a successful outcome, Schweickart said.

NASA says the precise effect of a 460-foot (140-meter) object hitting the Earth would depend on what the asteroid was made of and the angle of impact.

Paul Slovic, president of Oregon-based Decision Research, which studies judgment, decision-making and risk analysis, said the asteroid could take out an entire city or region.

[niss]

I do not care who does what......just aslong as Aerosmith is doing the soundtrack.

[Pete]

I do not care who does what......just aslong as Aerosmith is doing the soundtrack.

So true niss...and as long as Bruce Willis is part of the soloution...phuck we really have nothing to worry about, well that took care of that! haha.

[Hedley]

The UN is the obvious choice - they did such a good job in Iraq, with the "food for oil" program ... have they finished the indictments for that yet?

[bmc]

The UN will continue to be as weak and ineffective as its members want. Nothing more.

+1 on the Aerosmith soundtrack. Maybe Britney Spears can play a bald alien.

[Doc]

The UN is simply a group of toothless old men, who spend their days drinking tea and pontificating about, what could have been, should have been, would have been! Kind of like some avcanada posters.....who shall remain unnamed.

[Four1oh]

That'll be a good way to retire... I'll have to mark it on my calender. Don't count on Bruce Willis either, I checked, and he'll be 81 by then...

[bmc]

The UN is simply a group of toothless old men, who spend their days drinking tea and pontificating about, what could have been, should have been, would have been!

That's interesting. Nowhere near the truth, but interesting nonetheless.

Are you a wannabe pilot?

[twinpratts]

I agree. This is way beyond the ability of the UN. QUICK! Somebody get me Billy-Bob Thornton on the phone

[niss]

I dont know what billy bob will be able to do with those hunks of metal on his legs.

You know.....I could get my own band of misfits to save the world.

[Rudy]

God is angry at Jazz.

[The Hammer]

I do not care who does what......just aslong as Aerosmith is doing the soundtrack.

So true niss...and as long as Bruce Willis is part of the soloution...phuck we really have nothing to worry about, well that took care of that! haha.

Come on buddy, Demi Moore knows who the real man is!!!!

Ashton will save us!!

[Pith Helmet]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070218/sc_ ... ector_dc_5

Mission costs are estimated at $300 million.

Thats it? Sounds like a bargain...Boeing lists a new 747-8 Freighter as $279.5 -- $283.5 USD on boeing.com.

[electraguy]

So, whose gonna go get that group of oil workers to send into space.

COme on this is NASA, you probably got a room full of people just sitting around thinkin shit up and another room of people backing them up, this is the best NASA or the UN can come up with, lol

Better start kissing your ass goodbye now if you thibk the UN will protect you

[. ._]

A one in 45,000 chance that a weeny little 460 foot diameter rock hits the earth?

Quick! Ask me if I care!

Now if I get a knock on the door by someone who says, "ISTP, we need you to go into outer space!" then I think the money will be well spent.

-istp

[swede]

The UN is simply a group of toothless old men, who spend their days drinking tea and pontificating about, what could have been, should have been, would have been!

That's interesting. Nowhere near the truth, but interesting nonetheless.

Are you a wannabe pilot?

The toothless old men thing is the perception that they may want us to walk a way with, just google Maurice Strong and see how toothless that guy is, he and the likes of Ted Turner are just the people who are sometimes visible, 90% are below the radar. I doubt that they spend their time considering how to make the world a better place for anyone other than their ilk. As for the rogue asteroids, they may be crapping their pants, I'm not.

[cyyz]

A one in 45,000 chance that a weeny little 460 foot diameter rock hits the earth?

Quick! Ask me if I care!

So in 25 years you could be killed by said asteroid...

What's the chance you'll be dead by global warming in the next 100 years???

Good to see that you've got your priorities straight...

[Phileas Fogg]

God is angry at Jazz.

[flybye]

What's the chance you'll be dead by global warming in the next 100 years???

Good to see that you've got your priorities straight...

Not as good as my chances of being dead from natural causes, as well as anyone else whose old enough to understand this thread!

[cyyz]

Not as good as my chances of being dead from natural causes, !

So instead of worrying about asteroids, global warming, eating eggs, drinking, what have you. Shouldn't we all stop and start to enjoy life a little?

[grimey]

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risk/a99942.html

99942 Apophis (2004 MN4)
Earth Impact Risk Summary
Torino Scale (maximum) 0
Palermo Scale (maximum) -2.52
Palermo Scale (cumulative) -2.52
Impact Probability (cumulative) 2.2e-05
Number of Potential Impacts 2
Vimpact 12.59 km/s
Vinfinity 5.87 km/s
H 19.7
Diameter 0.250 km
Mass 2.1e+10 kg
Energy 4.0e+02 MT
all above are mean values
weighted by impact probability

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/torino_scale.html

No Hazard
(White Zone) 0 The likelihood of a collision is zero, or is so low as to be effectively zero. Also applies to small objects such as meteors and bodies that burn up in the atmosphere as well as infrequent meteorite falls that rarely cause damage.
Normal
(Green Zone) 1 A routine discovery in which a pass near the Earth is predicted that poses no unusual level of danger. Current calculations show the chance of collision is extremely unlikely with no cause for public attention or public concern. New telescopic observations very likely will lead to re-assignment to Level 0.
Meriting Attention by Astronomers
(Yellow Zone) 2 A discovery, which may become routine with expanded searches, of an object making a somewhat close but not highly unusual pass near the Earth. While meriting attention by astronomers, there is no cause for public attention or public concern as an actual collision is very unlikely. New telescopic observations very likely will lead to re-assignment to Level 0.
3 A close encounter, meriting attention by astronomers. Current calculations give a 1% or greater chance of collision capable of localized destruction. Most likely, new telescopic observations will lead to re-assignment to Level 0. Attention by public and by public officials is merited if the encounter is less than a decade away.
4 A close encounter, meriting attention by astronomers. Current calculations give a 1% or greater chance of collision capable of regional devastation. Most likely, new telescopic observations will lead to re-assignment to Level 0. Attention by public and by public officials is merited if the encounter is less than a decade away.
Threatening
(Orange Zone) 5 A close encounter posing a serious, but still uncertain threat of regional devastation. Critical attention by astronomers is needed to determine conclusively whether or not a collision will occur. If the encounter is less than a decade away, governmental contingency planning may be warranted.
6 A close encounter by a large object posing a serious but still uncertain threat of a global catastrophe. Critical attention by astronomers is needed to determine conclusively whether or not a collision will occur. If the encounter is less than three decades away, governmental contingency planning may be warranted.
7 A very close encounter by a large object, which if occurring this century, poses an unprecedented but still uncertain threat of a global catastrophe. For such a threat in this century, international contingency planning is warranted, especially to determine urgently and conclusively whether or not a collision will occur.
Certain Collisions
(Red Zone) 8 A collision is certain, capable of causing localized destruction for an impact over land or possibly a tsunami if close offshore. Such events occur on average between once per 50 years and once per several 1000 years.
9 A collision is certain, capable of causing unprecedented regional devastation for a land impact or the threat of a major tsunami for an ocean impact. Such events occur on average between once per 10,000 years and once per 100,000 years.
10 A collision is certain, capable of causing global climatic catastrophe that may threaten the future of civilization as we know it, whether impacting land or ocean. Such events occur on average once per 100,000 years, or less often.

Yea, I'm really worried.