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Link To Sun Article

ASTEROID TO HIT EARTH IN 2022

By PAUL SUTHERLAND - The Sun Spaceman

An asteroid has been discovered on a collision course with the Earth - and could crash into us in 2022.

Astronomers have been monitoring the path of the giant space rock since it was spotted on January 28.

The asteroid, which has been named 2000 BF19, is thought to be about 1km in diameter.

Experts say if it hits Earth it would cause an explosion that could wipe out a city.

Or it might cause a tidal wave that would devastate low-lying parts of the world.

The asteroid is now officially listed as a "Potentially Hazardous Object."

The astronomers' discovery is a chilling echo of the blockbuster movie Armageddon, in which a massive asteroid is heading for Earth.

In the film, disaster is averted when a team of astronauts led by Bruce Willis manage to blow the asteroid in half before it hits.

The real asteroid was revealed by astronomer Professor Andrea Milani, of Pisa University, Italy. He said: "Available observations are not enough to allow us to exclude a future impact. I rate this as scientifically urgent."

Professor Milani appealed for observatories to keep track of the asteroid before it fades out of sight of the world's biggest telescopes.

It is vital that the orbit be calculated accurately to check if it will hit the Earth.

The risk has been estimated by one expert as one in a million - but that is enough for scientists to be taking it extremely seriously.

Astronomers have been urging governments to invest cash in the search for asteroids that might threaten us.

At the moment only a tiny number of scientists are involved in the valuable research.

Last month the British Government set up a task force of Three Wise Men to assess the risks of global catastrophe by a giant asteroid strike.

In August 1998 a mile-wide asteroid had a near-miss as it passed within 450,000 miles of Earth.

Astronomers at the California Institute of Technology recently found there are 700 large asteroids close enough to cause devastation.

Each is over half a mile wide. A hit from a rock this size travelling at 15 miles per second would be the equivalent of 50,000 H-bombs.

-- snooze button (alarmclock_2000@yahoo.com), February 08, 2000

Answers

An there could be some we don't know about. Life has been here along time,if it hits some will survive. And thats life.

-- ET (bneville@zebra.net), February 08, 2000.

2022

-- by then (next@gen.fixit), February 08, 2000.

"one in a million..."

hmmm...same odds as michael hyatt's advice being sound.

Coincidence...or sign from BEYOND??

-- ImSo (lame@prepped.com), February 08, 2000.

recognize the ability to track and predict has come a ways since Niven and Purnelle wrote Lucifer's Hammer but go read the first half to see how these things get tracked and how the orbit gets calc'd.

Chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), February 08, 2000.

Interesting show on The Discovery Channel tonight on this very subject. What can be done other than sit and wait? Can Star wars help us with this one? Where's Reagan when we need him.

-- Come and (getme@earth.marksthespot), February 08, 2000.

It's always SOEMTHING!

-- INever (inevercheckmy@onebox.com), February 08, 2000.

I think this article seriously underestimates the effect of an impact from an object of this size:

The asteroid, which has been named 2000 BF19, is thought to be ABOUT 1KM IN DIAMETER.

Experts say if it hits Earth it would cause an explosion that could wipe out a city.

Or it might cause a tidal wave that would devastate low-lying parts of the world.

A more serious problem, and one that we can do something about, is the chance that a smaller asteroid or comet, ABOUT A MILE WIDE, might hit.

The best calculations are that such an impact could threaten the future of modern civilization. It could literally kill billions and send us back into the Dark Ages.

Such an impact would make a crater twenty times the size of Meteor Crater in Arizona. The gaping hole in the ground would be bigger than all of Washington, D.C., and deeper than 20 Washington Monuments stacked on top of each other.

It would loft so much debris into the stratosphere, which would spread worldwide, that agricultural production around our globe would come to a virtual halt: the dust would dim the sunlight for months, perhaps a year. Especially if the asteroid struck without warning, there would be mass starvation. No nation would be unscathed, so no nation could assist others, unlike the aftermath of World War II.

-- Risteard Mac Thomais (uachtaran@ireland.com), February 08, 2000.

Sorry, above was not clear:

-- excerpt from article --

The asteroid, which has been named 2000 BF19, is thought to be ABOUT 1KM IN DIAMETER.

Experts say if it hits Earth it would cause an explosion that could wipe out a city.

Or it might cause a tidal wave that would devastate low-lying parts of the world.

-- end excerpt from article --

-- excerpt from Congressional testimony on impact hazard --

A more serious problem, and one that we can do something about, is the chance that a smaller asteroid or comet, ABOUT A MILE WIDE, might hit.

The best calculations are that such an impact could threaten the future of modern civilization. It could literally kill billions and send us back into the Dark Ages.

Such an impact would make a crater twenty times the size of Meteor Crater in Arizona. The gaping hole in the ground would be bigger than all of Washington, D.C., and deeper than 20 Washington Monuments stacked on top of each other.

It would loft so much debris into the stratosphere, which would spread worldwide, that agricultural production around our globe would come to a virtual halt: the dust would dim the sunlight for months, perhaps a year. Especially if the asteroid struck without warning, there would be mass starvation. No nation would be unscathed, so no nation could assist others, unlike the aftermath of World War II.

-- end excerpt --

-- Risteard Mac Thomais (uachtaran@ireland.com), February 08, 2000.

1) It almost seems like the Book of Revelation...

2) 2022 is still a bit in the future...but I've got my bunker! Nothing like being prepared early...

3) By then, I'll be in my late 70's...but those 17 grandchildren will need to worry...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), February 08, 2000.

Sounds like their trying to make a good excuse to continue Star Wars research.

-- Sheri (wncy2k@nccn.net), February 08, 2000.

http://impact.arc.nasa.gov/index.html

For any who wish to learn more on this topic.

The current estimate from the stargazers is that we have discovered less than 10% of the large objects with earth-crossing orbits. It's a cosmic shooting gallery, and we're the duck.

Godspeed,

-- Pinkrock (aphotonboy@aol.com), February 08, 2000.

Solves my retirement problems.

-- George (George10@webtv.net), February 08, 2000.

ET,

Like a few of the dinosaurs survived 65 million years ago, yes?

-- Powder (Powder47keg@aol.com), February 08, 2000.

What a cool retirement present!

-- (kb8umw@yahoo.com), February 08, 2000.

Pisa University,lets see,how close is that to the "leaning"Tower of Pisa?

-- Irish (Pisa'n@it.no), February 08, 2000.

THE SKY IS FALLING!!! THE SKY IS FALLING!!!

-- bz (beezee@statesville.net), February 08, 2000.

Remember the last time that astronomers discovered an asteroid that they thought was going to do a very, very near miss, something like maybe 100,000 miles?

Something like two weeks later it was coming out that quite a few more astronomers had jumped on the topic, and the data -- and after doing very careful recalculations they discovered and announced that that threat was a whole lot less major. One of the major problems in doing their calculations that they reportedly had was that that asteroid was discovered while on a trajectory almost straight at earth in its current orbital position.

Now, if this thing is much more than a few meters or so in size, and depending upon its composition, of course it could be catastrophic, no question about that from me at all!

Is a hit serious enough to cause massive damage going to happen? Everything I've read says so. Do we have the means, now or soon to be available, to obliterate a major asteroid (or to gently alter its course)? Nothing I've read indicates so.

The first step seems to be to detect these things much more reliably and far enough out so that only a miniscule alteration of orbital trajectory is required, for example.

-- Redeye in Ohio (cannot@work.com), February 08, 2000.

I guess this will give all the paraoid believers in threats from Comet Lee, Chemtrails, etc. a twenty-two year period of happiness.

JOJ

-- jumpoff joe a.k.a. Al K. Lloyd (jumpoff@ekoweb.net), February 08, 2000.

"Don't worry...be happy!"

There is much speculation (Zachari Sitchin, Robert Dean, Dr. James Harder, others) that "we" are "ET's genetic experiment in a petri dish." Maybe THEY won't let it happen?? Hmmmmm...i wonder.

Only takes a "little push" - and it misses earth. Easy to calc that one. Even little humans could send out an "intercept nuke weapon" to give it a little push; lets just hope they don't "miss" like with the Mar's Orbiter(s).

NUKES IN SPACE...FOR VICTORY!!!

-- steve (WhoCares@nyway.Right?com), February 08, 2000.

"The nature of consciousness is such that evolution itself is a Doomsday Machine." (Carl Sagan)

"Ok...got it. So then, why not legalize pot in the meantime; what's their problem??"

right red-eye?

ROFLAMO!!!

oh!...almost forgot: "Sweet Dreams everyone..." (Carl Sagan)

-- steve (WhoCares@nymore.Right?com), February 08, 2000.

Now let's see. Hmm. The Earth travels around the Sun at almost 67,000 miles per SECOND. The Sun, together with the Earth and its other planets, travels in its orbit around the gravitational center of our galaxy (for the astronomically challenged, it's known as the Milky Way) at ONLY 120 miles per second, so we can ignore that part of the equation.

So, if these scientists who figured out that this asteroid is going to hit us is off by even a couple of seconds, it will miss us by over 130.000 miles. Two seconds in 22 years? Pretty accurate shooting by old Lucifer, I'd say. How far away is this asteroid now? A few billion miles, maybe? I don't think I'll start worrying to much yet....

-- jumpoff joe a.k.a. Al K. Lloyd (jumpoff@ekoweb.net), February 08, 2000.

TOO. Too much. I hate it when people spell "too" as "to". And now I did it. :o(

-- jumpoff joe a.k.a. Al K. Lloyd (jumpoff@ekoweb.net), February 08, 2000.

We only know about 5% of the asteroids that are out there , according to information given out about 1996 . At that time , it was admitted that in 1994 , we were narrowly missed ( 4 hours ) by a asteroid big enough to wipe out civilization , AND , it was discovered about a week AFTER it passed us ( i.e. as it was going away ). Did our " great leader " (?) appropriate ANY extra money for more observations of these unknown , potential killers, as requested by scientists ? OF COURSE NOT !!!! There was a campaign to be run and won ! This is ALL that matters ! Eagle

-- Hal Walker (e999eagle@FREEWWWEB.COM), February 09, 2000.

New data says a miss is as good as 3.5 million miles

New Data

It now appears that this one won't even be close. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Best wishes,,,,

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), February 09, 2000.