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Potentially Deadly Asteroids Still Go Undetected
The Comet that Destroyed America
10 Scariest Asteroid Attacks on Earth: The Near Hits and Approaching Terrors

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Klebert L. Hall
08/13/09

In reply to Potentially Deadly Asteroids Still Go Undetected
People never take the long view.
-Kle.
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Daveinva
08/12/09

In reply to Potentially Deadly Asteroids Still Go Undetected
Gee, I'm really glad all the scientists in the world spend so much time arguing-- with resources-- whether the Earth in 2100 will be one degree warmer than today instead of focusing on a tangible, indisputable problem that has a 1-in-10 chance of happening in the next century.
Really smart risk assessment there, guys.
[www.theatlantic.com]
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Lassus
08/12/09

@Daveinva: Your math is not sound.
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Pope John Peeps II
08/13/09

@Daveinva: Why would they devote time and effort to a problem that has a tiny change of affecting a small number of people, when there's a problem that has a 100% chance of affecting ALL people.
And the earth will not JUST be one degree warmer, according to most of the latest predictions. But even one degree on average would be quite disastrous.
Also, we're not even getting into the question of who "they" are and why they seem to only be allowing you to solve one problem at a time. Maybe you're just using this chance to get a pointless and baseless dig against climate change? hmm?
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Roklimber
08/12/09

In reply to Potentially Deadly Asteroids Still Go Undetected
Several of the comments point out that nothing will be seriously done until a small one hits us and wipes out a city or two.

But, you know, not too long ago we had the rare chance to watch the impact of a meteor onto Jupiter's atmosphere. We watched it, we measured the effects of the impacts (there were several), the results were presented to the public and to the people in charge. And, yet, no one cared.

Never mind that it was on Jupiter, only the largest planet, and the impact caused a long-term effect. Never mind that Jupiter's mostly gas, meaning a much softer impact than it would have been otherwise. Never mind that the fact that it happened right next door means it can and WILL happen to us sooner or later.

No one f*ing cared. I, for one, can't wait for our civilization to be wiped off this rock. That oughta teach us.
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Edited by Roklimber at 08/12/09 4:26 PM Roklimber was starred Roklimber was unstarred

omgwtflolbbqbye
08/12/09

@Roklimber: Yea, but many people have no inclination to care about what's happening outside of their own country, much less the planet (and to be fair they usually wouldn't need to)
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Edited by omgwtflolbbqbye at 08/12/09 4:39 PM omgwtflolbbqbye was starred omgwtflolbbqbye was unstarred

Jeriba
08/12/09

@Roklimber: I blame that TV movie where they had the MOON crash into earth. How can the average citizen be expected to take the issue seriously after THAT?
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sicboi
08/12/09

@Roklimber: its like the thingee 'if a tree falls in the woods, would it still make a sound if no one were there to observe it fall?'
In which case you're right, no one cared then because Jupiter was the forest. in the debate on climate change, would we really be worried about a few islands being put underwater if they weren't populated? not really no, but since most islands now have ppl on them that need to be placed somewhere and be compensated, yeah it matters then.
I do agree that we have it coming though. just too bad we likely won't be able to youtube the damn thing if its the big one...
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Pope John Peeps II
08/13/09

@Roklimber: Wow. You've really got a case of the nerd-geek-syndrome. You know the one. The one where if the world doesn't bow to your extravagant, outrageous conclusions, it deserves to be wiped off the planet.
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Edited by Pope John Peeps II at 08/13/09 12:16 AM Pope John Peeps II was starred

Roklimber
08/13/09

@Pope John Peeps II: Care to point out which of my conclusions are extravagant or outrageous?
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Don't Make Me Ang Lee. You wouldn't like me when I'm Ang Lee.
08/12/09

In reply to Potentially Deadly Asteroids Still Go Undetected
the much-ignored legacy of the Bush administration are the piles on unfunded mandates thrown out indiscriminately.
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Bill-Lee
08/12/09

In reply to Potentially Deadly Asteroids Still Go Undetected
If an asteroid is going to wipe us all out, I'd rather not know about it. I'd rather just go out living my life than panicky about something I can't prevent.
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RandomFrequentFlierDent
08/12/09

@Bill-Lee: I'd want to know - there's a lot of stuff I'd like to say to to a lot of people, if I knew I'd never have to see them again.
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tetracycloide
08/12/09

In reply to Potentially Deadly Asteroids Still Go Undetected
"any one of which could strike our planet and cause devastating damaged."
the asteroid is literally going to hit us so hard we'll start feeling it last tuesday?
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omgwtflolbbqbye
08/12/09

In reply to Potentially Deadly Asteroids Still Go Undetected

On a semi related tangent, this article reminds me of something cute I read/saw a few hrs ago.

(click on the img. to see the whole thing).
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Edited by omgwtflolbbqbye at 08/12/09 3:30 PM omgwtflolbbqbye was starred omgwtflolbbqbye was unstarred

phoenix
08/12/09

@omgwtflolbbqbye: That makes me ridiculously happy. Thank you.
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omgwtflolbbqbye
08/12/09

In reply to Potentially Deadly Asteroids Still Go Undetected
I think the only way people will be willing to pony up significant dough for this project is to wait for an asteroid to smack a city first, wreck some buildings, and kill some people.

As it is, the idea of such a thing happening is too intangible, outside the realm of sci-fi entertainment, for most people to actually be afraid of something like that.
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Edited by omgwtflolbbqbye at 08/12/09 3:24 PM omgwtflolbbqbye was starred omgwtflolbbqbye was unstarred

RandomFrequentFlierDent
08/12/09

@omgwtflolbbqbye: Well, whatever city I'm in is called as "not it" for being the sacrificial city. As a Canadian, I'd like to volunteer Hamilton, Ontario. Stupid Hamilton . . .
I'd also like to mention 99942 Apophis. April 13, 2036 people, take care of any unfinished business.
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Edited by RandomFrequentFlierDent at 08/12/09 3:37 PM

Blue_Thark
08/12/09

@omgwtflolbbqbye: Yeah, it'll probably take some kind of "cosmic 9/11" to get folks to take this sort of thing seriously.
On the other hand, if we can get Glenn Beck and company to start talking about it then some people would get so riled up and panicked the government will be forced to drop everything else entirely.
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RandomFrequentFlierDent
08/12/09

@Blue_Thark: I suspect Glen Beck and his ilk would view the asteroid as God’s final judgment delivered in fiery incineration from above form. To do otherwise would require a little bit (actually a lot) more science than he’s used to.
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Edited by RandomFrequentFlierDent at 08/12/09 4:04 PM

omgwtflolbbqbye
08/12/09

@Blue_Thark: "This just in! Heathen scientists detect Planet-Killer asteroid on collision course with Earth! "

"But does our Gay-Liberal-Muslim-Communist President plans to interfere with God's Plan by launching aborted fetuses and bags of tax dollars at it!?"
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Edited by omgwtflolbbqbye at 08/12/09 4:37 PM omgwtflolbbqbye was starred omgwtflolbbqbye was unstarred

Anekanta - killed by a cacodemon
08/12/09

In reply to Potentially Deadly Asteroids Still Go Undetected
This is one of those things, like the Kyoto agreement, that is international in scope, but that also has little potential of being taken seriously by politicians.
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omgwtflolbbqbye promoted this comment

RandomFrequentFlierDent
08/12/09

@Anekanta: And won't be signed by the US . . . :(
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CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard)
08/12/09

In reply to Potentially Deadly Asteroids Still Go Undetected
Its not NASA's fault..its the goverments, and I mean all goverments. Even here in the UK.......our space progam in the UK is such a joke that we love to watch idiots on the moorlands shooting rockets 40 feet off the ground..Wow..really!! There should be a global unit, a global funded near earth collision agency. Especially in Australia. Its egotistiacal to think we are above a strike..and whilst the goverments of the world and those fat cat coperations sit on their hands wondering how to build the next wind turbine or the next electric car. There really wont be any need......cant use a wind turbine when the Earth is scortched!!! Cant drive an electric car over rubble. As a United Nation..we really need to stop looking at Meteor strikes as science fiction and start thinking about science fact. Real global killers. What I mean by that is, we laughed at Regans Star Wars program...good idea...bad name!! We love to revel in meteor showers...like tonight, the media go crazy. But the real killers are still off in space hurtling towards us and like it or not....this worlds not worth saving or worth fighting for if its not going to be here in 30 years. Thanks to our ignorance of the night sky. Lerts give NASA the funding they need, and lets get the United Nations really looking into this stuff. Or at least let me build my fallout shelter without incident!!!!
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omgwtflolbbqbye promoted this comment Edited by CoffinDodger (If the typos crap. Blame my keyboard) at 08/12/09 3:19 PM

cletar
07/22/09

In reply to The Comet that Destroyed America
That's a crappy explanation for Clovis. I don't think archaeological evidence supports that at all.
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IraeNicole
07/22/09

In reply to The Comet that Destroyed America
If only they had Bruce Willis.
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Quilt
07/22/09

In reply to The Comet that Destroyed America
Esplodo.
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acrobatic rabbit
07/22/09

In reply to The Comet that Destroyed America
I watched a PBS special about this theory. and they demonstrated how an impact crater wouldn't be found. Many times comets themselves are pieces of rock, gas, and ice..instead of one large whole piece of rock. So if one were to enter the atmosphere, it wouldn't be like an asteroid that would leave a large crater. instead it would be like tossing pea gravel onto sand, but obviously on a much larger scale. Thus leaving many shallow craters that could easily fill with sediment over time.
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I ♥ Bitchy Trampolines promoted this comment Edited by acrobatic rabbit at 07/22/09 11:40 AM acrobatic rabbit was starred acrobatic rabbit was unstarred

Dr Emilio Lizardo
07/22/09

In reply to The Comet that Destroyed America
Gives new meaning to "America Bashing."
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