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Subscribe to RSSApophis, nicknamed the "Doomsday Asteroid," was once considered a potential threat, but now scientists realize the chance of the asteroid colliding with Earth is negligible. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
Radar observations made during this week's close encounter with the asteroid Apophis have ruled out the risk of a catastrophic cosmic collision in 2036, NASA says. Experts say it'll be much farther away at that time than it is right now.
The crucial readings came on Wednesday when the space rock, which is thought to measure at least 885 feet (270 meters wide), approached within 9 million miles (14.5 million kilometers) of Earth. NASA is monitoring Apophis with its 230-foot (70-meter) Goldstone radio dish in California. Optical readings also have come in from the Magdalena Ridge Observatory in New Mexico and the Pan-STARRS observatory in Hawaii.
The bottom line? "We have effectively ruled out the possibility of an Earth impact by Apophis in 2036," Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said today in the all-clear news release. "The impact odds as they stand now are less than one in a million, which makes us comfortable saying we can effectively rule out an Earth impact in 2036. Our interest in asteroid Apophis will essentially be for its scientific interest for the foreseeable future."
Jon Giorgini, who developed JPL's online Horizons database to keep track of solar system objects, would go even further. He says that according to calculations based on the Goldstone data, Apophis will probably pass by Earth at a distance of 36 million miles (58 million kilometers, or 0.39 AU), and absolutely no closer than 14 million miles (22 million kilometers, or 0.15 AU). "That is a very extreme minimum," he told NBC News. "Nothing else plausible can get you closer."
Apophis, a.k.a. 2004 MN4, created a huge splash when it was discovered in 2004 because the initial assessment of its orbit gave a 1-in-40 chance of Earth impact in 2029. That would be catastrophic: The space rock is big enough to wipe out a city if it struck land, or create killer tsunami waves if it splashed into the ocean.
Additional orbital data quickly eliminated the risk for 2029, but showed that it would pass within 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) of our planet at that time. That's so close that Earth's gravitational field will perturb Apophis' orbit. The experts worried that if the asteroid passed through a particular half-mile-wide zone in space, known as a "keyhole," its orbit would be perturbed just enough to set up a smash-up during the 2036 encounter. Fortunately, the latest observations indicate that Apophis will miss the keyhole by a long shot.
Did I just hear a cosmic sigh of relief?
UH / IA
The asteroid Apophis, highlighted here by a white circle, was discovered in June 2004.
There are still a few uncertainties surrounding Apophis: Astronomers don't yet have enough data to determine how the asteroid is spinning or how solar radiation is affecting its orbital path — a phenomenon known as the Yarkovsky effect. Giorgini said that even under the worst-case scenario, the effect won't push Apophis into a collision in 2036. But there could conceivably be other risky encounters in the decades or centuries ahead.
"There's a non-linear amplification that can really move it around more," Giorgini said.
Also, there are questions about Apophis' exact size. Just this week, readings from the European Space Agency's Herschel space telescope suggested that the asteroid may be nearly 20 percent bigger than previously thought. But that larger size estimate is based on the assumption that Apophis is a spheroid, and astronomers already know that it's elongated.
"We're not seeing that larger size in the radar data," Giorgini said.
By the end of next month, continued radar observations from Goldstone as well as the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico should give astronomers a much better fix on Apophis' spin and its size. When those factors are fully accounted for, the Jet Propulsion Observatory will update its official risk assessment for Apophis — and could take this bad boy off the hit list for good.
Update for 6:30 p.m. ET: Clark Chapman, senior scientist at the Southwest Research Institute, weighed in on the current state of the asteroid hunt in an email:
"One thing you should be aware of, and might mention, is that the next Planetary Defense Conference, an every-two-year international meeting, will be held April 15-19 in Flagstaff, Arizona. ... Some presentations are already listed in the program, which should be finalized a week from now, which is the due date for abstracts.
"An interesting tie-in with the new observations of Apophis is that a similar thing happened with 2011 AG5 a few weeks ago, when observations with the huge Gemini telescope in Hawaii showed that it would, in 2023, miss the roughly 350-km-wide 'keyhole' and, therefore, not strike the Earth in 2040. Prior to these critical observations, the chance of a 2040 impact was unusually high (though still low in everyday terms) at 1 in 500.
"A point to be realized is that while the chances of impact in these cases are very low by ordinary standards, they aren't zero, and the consequences of an impact could be very terrible, so it is important to plan and prepare for the possibility of impact until it is ruled out.
"It was important to get these observations of AG5 in the autumn of 2012, because if it had turned out that AG5 was actually on an impact trajectory, it would have given us an additional year to mount a deflection mission and succeed in deflecting it from the 2023 keyhole. Without making a major observational effort with a very large telescope this autumn, the next routine observational opportunity wasn't until this coming autumn."
Update for 8:30 p.m. ET: One of NASA's experts on the asteroid threat and two former NASA astronauts have weighed in on the report about Apophis. David Morrison of NASA's Ames Research Center sent these comments via email:
"One possible angle is the recent proposal from [NASA Administrator] Charlie Bolden, based on a Keck study, that we retrieve a 7-meter carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid and bring it into lunar orbit. There are many questions about this idea, but the one I have in mind is our assumed ability, without Sentinel, to find 7-meter C-type asteroids in Earthlike orbits. If you can't find them, you can’t protect against them, or do anything with them as potential resources."
Now here's an email from Ed Lu, a veteran of two space shuttle missions and an extended stay on the International Space Station. Lu now serves as chairman and CEO of the B612 Foundation, which is planning to launch the Sentinel space telescope to track half a million near-Earth asteroids:
"While it is great that Apophis is much better understood, and we know it won't hit us in 2036, the greatest danger from an asteroid strike is from the ones we haven't yet found. Of asteroids larger than the one that struck Tunguska in 1908, we know of less than 1 percent of them. And as David Morrison points out, we can't protect ourselves from the unknown asteroids (or make use of them either). The B612 Foundation Sentinel Space Telescope is going to work on finding and tracking these asteroids."
And here are some comments from Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart, who has played a key role in raising awareness about the threats and opportunities presented by near-Earth objects. It was Schweickart who warned in the wake of Hurricane Katrina that asteroids like Apophis could spark a much more devastating "cosmic Katrina":
"I'm hoping that you don’t follow the bad (surprisingly wide) precedent of stating that [the risk from] Apophis has been eliminated. Please look on the JPL risk page and especially the more detailed info and note that 1) The 2036 impact possibility is, while significantly reduced, still possible, and 2) that the 2068 impact possibility is now elevated ... to a level that exceeds what the 2036 impact was prior to this apparition.
"There’s certainly good news re the 2036 impact decreasing in probability ... but frankly it was 1 in 234,000 prior to the new observations ... not exactly an impact probability to worry one. (There are many NEOs with higher impact probability ... but no one pays attention to them ... they aren't the 'poster child' that Apophis is.) My personal reaction was one of surprise that the new 2036 impact was not zero!
"But/And ... there are more radar observations to integrate in ... as well as optical tracking both now and for the next several years. Apophis isn't going away ... the impact possibilities are simply shifting around a bit with refinement of the tracking data. 2036 is now less probable; 2068 is now more probable (but still very low).
"Until JPL and the other guys get more data (enough to really define the Yarkovsky effect), we really won’t be able to get definitive data for longer time scales that we can rely on."
JPL's Giorgini said the risk assessment that Schweickart mentioned won't be full updated until after Goldstone and Arecibo finish their observational campaign in mid-February — so there may still be a non-zero risk listed until then. But Giorgini is confident that the 2036 risk will disappear when all the observations are factored in. (As of this writing, the estimated risk of collision is listed at 1 chance out of 10,989,000.) But you're right, Rusty: In order to eliminate the risk completely, astronomers will have to get more data about Apophis' physical characteristics. And then there are all those other unknown killer asteroids that might be out to get us...
More doomsday worries addressed:
- Asteroid 2012 DA14 won't hit Earth next month
- Asteroid 2011 AG5 won't hit Earth in 2040
- This year's big comets won't pose a threat
- Asteroid-hunting telescope to be launched in 2017
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
Leave a Comment:
As a Christian who believes the Bible quite literally, I expect that the prophecies of the Book of the Revelation of John to occur, including mountains falling from the sky. As a SciFi author, I recognize such events has occurred in the past as evidenced by Meteor Crator in New Mexico.
However, unlike some of the more radical element of my spiritual bretheran, I am not hoping for a devastating metor strike anytime soon. Instead I rather desire it doesn't happen in my lifetime. That said, the heavens are rather fully populated with comets and meteors, and we have defiinitive information on only a tiny percentage of the rocks that could make Earthfall. I consider the search for near Earth objects an essential element of Earth protection to ensure a long and healthy life expectancy for all the species of Earth.
I, for one, deeply appreciate the ongoing efforts of astronomers around the planet as they search the space above for potentially life-threatening objects. Thank you my friends I've not yet met for your dilligence and passion to secure safety for our fragile world.
Sincerely,
Ivis Bo Davis - Author of the XTERRA Series
www.ivisbodavis.com
Ivis -- I hope you have a good copy editor. Wow, that's some really bad spelling and sentence structure.
Moving along, a missed asteroid is just another reason to enjoy, every day, the experience of life on this beautiful blue marble we call home. It could end at any moment.
Annie-322924 I believe we could call those typos. As for sentence structure there is only one slight issue there.
You believe the Bible quite literally? Really? Never had a hand or eye offend you - never plucked an eye out? Spare me from your BS. You parse the Bible and select what you want. Don't give me this literal nonsense.
Damn, and I was about to start my own Hale-Bopp styled suicide cult just in case the asteroid was a spaceship with alien angels on it where you have to commit suicide as the pass to get on board and go to hevan.
Better luck with the next rock, Rocky?
Rocky, Hale-Bopp's miss didn't stop that cult from completing their mission. Nike sneakers and purple blankets might even be on sale.
I thought we voted to send Rocky to Mars ASAP.
As far as all this doomsday nonsense, do people really get worked up about all this? Don't we have enough to worry about in this life without imagining a doomsday boogey man every six months?
Cancer, Killer Flu, Heart Disease, a Republican Majority, those are real and present dangers. Space rocks? Not so much.
Time for Grandpa to go play his guitar.
No matter what era we grow up in, the things that bother grampa are always more that what bothers you. People don't take news and information well, and feel they have to worry about every little thing.
Ok, back to your regularly scheduled Apocalypse.
To poster Ivis
You take the bible to be literal? Really? Or are you really a cherry-picker when it comes to the bible? Are you claiming that it is ok to smite someone who works on the Sabbath? Or someone who wears clothing made of two different fabrics? Or how about owning slaves? Better yet forcing a woman to be married to her rapist?
I would love to hear your side on this.
@skip Nicholson, Oklahoma City
Last time I checked, cancer, killer flu, heart disease, and a Republican majority can't cause worldwide destruction/alteration and/or a massive die-off of numerous species (ever hear of what happened to the dinosaurs?). And considering that scientists only know of 1% of asteroids, the other 99% of space objects we don't know exist are very much a concern. The only limiting factor is the chance that one of these objects has an intercepting course with that of the Earth, which is inherently miniscule, but statistically can still happen given the amount of objects in space. Anyway, let's break down your examples that are the "real and present dangers."
Cancer - Because of billions of dollars worth of research, we can cure many forms of it. However, even if we totally eradicate it, there will always be a new disease/abnormality that develops and will kill. It's called evolution and natural population control.
Killer Flu - It isn't enough that this exists, partly from humanity's overuse of antibiotics, but you have scientists researching it by making equally or more deadly strains. Also follows what I said about cancer.
Heart Disease - Mostly is exacerbated by things like a poor diet, being overweight/obese, physical inactivity, excessive alcohol use, and diabetes. All of those factors (except for some forms of diabetes and genes that cause weight gain) are caused by human choices.
Republican Majority - I'm assuming this is a joke
I think fungus will kill us faster than an asteroid hit.
The Bible is science fiction.
Unfortunately, the characters are just a little underdeveloped and the authors focused much too much on violence because they didn't really know enough about science yet. Although, I do quite enjoy the section on how physical I can and cannot be when beating my slave. I cannot wait until we get cyborg-slaves ... I will be beating their asses raw with my ion rod.
"Earth protection"......?
Wait, I thought you believed the Bible to be "literal"?
It's quite odd then, that you would think we humans could do anything to stop an asteroid bound for Earth's destruction. I mean, wouldn't that be God's plan ... God's design?
Again, isn't your God in charge of our "life expectancy"?
He is, after all, omniscient and omnipotent, right? Why on Earth would we need our fellow humans gazing at the sky, if not for God's holly salvation, it seems there would be very little for us to do if he got a bug up his ass and decided to end our specie's reign. You remember "the flood," right? That's my favorite portion of your little book. You know ... the part where God gives mankind free will. But then kills everyone for not acting like he commanded them...
Something tells me .... if your God sends an asteroid to Earth, we're screwed.
But fear not. As I mentioned above, it's all just science fiction anyway :)
Good thing we have real scientists who got our backs.
You take the bible quite literally... I believe in Satire quite literally. And stoning people for sins.
World-wide Destruction? I'm just looking out for number one! I regard Cancer, Heart Diseas and literal bible believers to be a bigger threat to ME (and by default YOU) than space rocks.
And no, if the Republican party had control of our government that WOULD result a world-wide devastation. No joke intended.
Does no one agree with my fungus theory?
Is there a fungus among us?
"As a SciFi author, I recognize such events has occurred in the past as evidenced by Meteor Crator in New Mexico."
As an author , surely you know that crator is spelled crater ! And the 50,000 year old AZ event was lame compared to the dinosaur extinction event 65 million years ago. Surely you can use better examples. And the fact you take the bible literally is more testament to your lack of credibility.
LOL, yes Michael. And its strengthening.
I think he was thinking of the "Creator". VGER
TFNJ -- I don't know if I agree with your fungus theory but I have one of my own: I believe the human race will destroy itself and insects will someday rule the planet.
Ok, possible. Maybe we won't be able to adapt as well and they can. We've become too spoiled and think we know it all.
The insects will someday rule the world idea has been around for a long time.
Or Willard (the Rat) and his crew will take over the world.
Are you sure you literally meant 'literally' ?
2013 Feb 14 - 16
ALL THAT EVER LIVED ON EARTH WILL SOON HAVE THEIR
EYES TO THE HEAVENS
Do a little History on this one.
ALL
Should Look Up "2012 DA14".
This could take out one of more satellites
and the junk and debris from the hit could end up taking out many more
satellites very soon after that. All the satellite collision probability will go
way up if even one is hit. The velocity that the parts would go to would make
them missiles that would start targeting a chain reaction this would not be
good.
Most all will be watching this one and pray it goes by us without a
hit. Every Scientist alive will be watching this event. Many will be in Florida
for a very special viewing of the once in a Lifetime Event. Professors,
Scientist, World Leaders, Ham Radio Operators and Every Astronomer will have its
eyes on This Event, along with almost every TV set on Earth.
"2012
DA14" goes by Earth twice a year and there is no way anyone for sure, can tell
how close the second pass will be till it passes by the Moon and Earth and the
GRAVITATIONAL FORCE effect that it will have on this Asteroid.
They may
come close but this one is already coming very close to begin with. Too close
this time or on its second or 3rd pass? Ad a Meteor Shower like the 13 and 14 of
December of 2012, it might go through or bump into one of them? Or all the
other more then 20,00 pieces of orbital debris like Spent Rocket Boosters left
in space that can no longer be moved by a control center on Earth. Or add a
Solar Flare.
If a big enough one were to slam into the moon in the night
sky you would think the sun was coming up early only it would be 5 to 7 times as
bright. From The Sun's Rays Reflection on all the Debris Field.
2012
XM16, 2012 XM55, 2012 XP55, THERE ARE OVER 25 found just in the year 2012 that
are part of the Near Earth Object Program that will come close to Earth from now
till 2012 DA14 comes, Feb 14 - 16, 2013.
You do not want to know how
many are on the "PLANETARY DEFENSE" list.
The PLANETARY DEFENSE is not to
protect Earth from men from Mars.
It is for all mankind with most all Nation
in on it to stop if can most all collision with EARTH from a ASTEROID IMPACT.
It is if you will a AVOIDANCE SHIELD. "N.E.O.S. Near Earth Object
Shield".
If only one were to hit or IMPACT EARTH on land get ready for a
winter you will never forget. The winter from 1883 -1884 KRAKATOA you will think
was a little pebble, and now the stone comes.
A Shock Wave was felt in England from a Event
about 7:15 to 7:20 A.M. Siberia time in the morning in June of the year 1908
high in the sky above the Forest in the remote wilderness of Tunguska Siberia
heard an explosion that laid flat more than 800 square miles of the forest with
all the trees pointing away from the center of the blast with most all the trees
laying on their side. Some trees that were right below the blast were still
there looking like telephone poles with no bark or branches left on them.
This Asteroid did not even hit the Ground and this is known by most as
the TUNGUSKA EVENT. For all that lived there it was
WORMWOOD Rev 8:11 the wood became full of worms and the rivers
water no longer sweet and undrinkable.
If a Meteor Shower is big enough
you might think all the stars are falling from Heaven.
About one every 100 years makes it into the
Earth’s Atmosphere big enough for all to take note. Some make it
to the surface the signs are all over the Planet and moon from the ones that
have.
If you need a visual sign of a collided impact
with a planet look to
"SHOEMAKER - LEVY 9" July 1994.
You Need More Look up "PROJECT
WORMWOOD" Revelations 8: 10 - 11 based on the "TUNGUSKA EVENT" 1908
Better to be safe then sorry.
GET READY
Read your Bible
While you
still can,
and May our Lord GOD Bless all that do so.
John 14 : 6
Luke
13 : 27
Matthew 7 : 20 - 27
Matthew 12:39
Matthew 24:3 - 14
The Lord's Little
Helper.
Paul Felix Schott.
P.S.
Help others in are Lord's name
Jesus Christ help bring all to know him while you still can.
Once again Paul Felix takes a little rock, blows it out of ALL proportion, and uses the generated unreasonable fear to plug his version of religion.
How sad.
what if they found out last night that it did pass through that "window" in space, would the powers that be tell the public or hold off for fear of how the public would react? not that i don't believe we in all likelihood completely safe from it, just a small sliver of doubt thats all. worst case if it did hit due to its size, odds are it would hit water and damage would be minimal. if it were to hit land again mostly due to size unless it hit a major metropolitan area, well we as a species have faced far worse things over the entirety of human history and survived just fine. still would they tell us, be it apophis or some other asteroid? i do wonder. that said i am more concerned about frozen pipes from the cold front coming down this weekend than a celestial impact in the near or long term.
But I just found out about that keyhole from this article; I'll bet you did too. In fact, it's only from other people that I find out anything at all about asteroids. So I would say that you're willing to believe what they say up until that point where it impinges upon your ability to fantasize about some possibility of a catastrophe, which you make exciting - rather than just troublesome - by having it represent and result in the overturning of order and authority (which are a constant burden on the instincts, although unavoidable and necessary for civilization).
A rock that size would be devastating no matter where it hits. It's not about where it would land, it's very much about what it would kick up into the atmosphere.
What terrible reporting by MSNBC--shame on you.
First off--this asteroid has been proven with recent tests to be 1150 feet wide--not 885.
Furthermore the orbit is not pre-ordained. In other words--anything can happen on an orbit around the sun including playing cosmic ping pong with another smaller unseen asteroid during it's next orbit. And this collision or near collision can draw the asteroid off it's CALCULATED orbit. Thus no orbit can be ascertained with 100% certainty.
The only way to know for sure is during the last 10 to 20 million miles of it's orbit then calculations of it's path can be determined accurately--but not before that time.
There are a lot of things out there which can go bump in the night so hopefully any unknown 'bump won't produce a detrimental nudge to it's orbit between now and 2036. That's 23 years so a lot can happen between now and then.
In fact one of those things which could nudge it into a direct hit is the Earth/Moon system itself when it passes close to Earth in 2029.
gizmowiz, First, the story covered the size issue: "Also, there are questions about Apophis' exact size. Just this week, readings from the European Space Agency's Herschel space telescope suggested that the asteroid may be nearly 20 percent bigger than previously thought. But that larger size estimate is based on the assumption that Apophis is a spheroid, and astronomers already know that it's elongated."
Second, the more observations which are made, the better the orbit of any object can be ascertained.
Finally, there really are not any known objects likely to perturb the orbit of Apophis in the next 23 years.
But 99% of the objects out there are unknown.
What really concerns me is a new object to the solar system, one we've never seen before, on a hyperbolic pass from the Oort, which happens to find Earth square in its path. At most we'd have a few months warning. Not enough time to do anything with the present state of our space capabilities.
I agree with John Carter--no KNOWN objects. But one thing we do know with 100% certainty--someday it will hit SOMETHING. It's inevitable. Cosmic ping pong will continue on until the end of time and where it goes no one knows with any certainty.
I'm not disappointed .
Try not to worry and be happy .
Thanks for the article .
Well, whether it's this one or one in the future - we will get smacked by a rock eventually if we cannot prevent it. It's pretty much a matter of time and technology. In the event of a REAL collision - we won't know it until the last possible moment - right or wrong, the chaos would be extreme. If the worlds governments(all of them) knew of an impending absolute collision years from now - they would NOT tell you. They will only tell you of the near misses - the good news.
The only time we will hear of the bad news is when it is impossible for the governments to deny.
Imagine..what would happen -if, we KNEW of an impact in 5 years. Do you tell the people? World governments will deny ANY impacts until the last possible moment - hard to fault them for that considering the chaos that it would bring. Notification of an impending impact will come from backyard astronomers - and the gov will speak when they are no longer able to deny.
It WILL happen. In my lifetime - not likely. Maybe. It's a race - we identify the threat and have the capability to prevent it - or - move. Happened before. Didn't work out so well for the dinosaurs.
If the story was that Apoophis will hit us dead on in 2036 - it wouldn't be here. They would NOT tell you until they had NO choice.
At Draconian
You are correct. Informing the public would likely cause the collapse of society. If such an event was to happen I think that the governments of each nation would likely not say anything until the last minute.
Of course, if one were really on a path to hit us dead on, who gives a rats arse about the collapse of society. Its gonna be just as dead as the people that make it up. Personally, I don't think a government could keep any kind of secret for more than a few hours at best. They've proved time and again that they are woefully inadequate at keeping things secret. And the astronomers that would detect it first are not government employees. That kind of info would out probably before the governements even got done reading their e-mails.
You're giving the government far too much credit for competency.
We should make contingency plans.. just in case. Not happy with the 1 / million odds.
Just remember, we have aliens on our side! ;-)
Ahh, I forgot about the Alien card. Ok, that now makes it 1 / brazillion.
To poster Ivis
You take the bible to be literal? Really? Or are you really a cherry-picker when it comes to the bible? Are you claiming that it is ok to smite someone who works on the Sabbath? Or someone who wears clothing made of two different fabrics? Or how about owning slaves? Better yet forcing a woman to be married to her rapist?
I would love to hear your side on this.
Outer space is vast and it is very likely that there are other asteroid tat have yet to be discovered which may pose a threat. If we were to detect one, what are our options? We cannot blow it up, that would cause more of a problem; despite what Follywood has portrayed in the movies.
They're assuming that some alien bug-like species doesn't adjust the orbit at aphelion so they can wipe us out... oh wait, I think I've seen this before.
What a shame. We could use a thinning of the herd (see above). Oh, well - there are always the ones we don't see coming... ;>
Brian Williams said the return passing in 2029 will be much closer and "visible in daylight" whereas the article says the passing will be in 2036 and much further away than this one. Why the bad reporting?
And by 2036 the planet will be so poisoned and warm , people will be at each others throats and economies will be dead.
Was it this same rock? I know there are a couple during the same time period, and some make relatively quick returns toward earth.
Sounds like the same rock, according to the article.
NWMichael - not bad reporting; Apophis passes in both 2029 AND 2036, with '29's pass being exceptionally close.
Both dates are mentioned in the article above.
You can search online for the NEO list, and it shows trajectories and dates. I forget the link.
Ok michael, my mistake.
Interesting - I thought the same thing when I first read the article... I also saw the NBC News report - and I remember clearly thinking "WOW!!! I wanna see that - in daylight, no less!!!"
But daylight astronomers might get a break perhaps (maybe) {hopefully?} later this year from a sun-grazing comet, if I remember a space.com article from a couple weeks ago...
Fear not, at any given moment it is possible to have a supernova become visible, and if it's close enough it would be very visible in daylight.
Beetleguise? (sp)
The one that hits Earth, they will never see coming!
well we still have ali-bum-obama the clintons the gores, george soros and all those other less then zero stool samples liberals that are destroying earth and everything that is good.
While there's always a mixture of thoughtful and glib comments, I wouldn't put much stock in NASA's cheery forecast.
The first warnings about Apophis came in 1981, when it was referred to as the Red Meteor by a man named Billy Meier. Search out his verbatim information, which is illustrated and available in six languages (The Adventures of Billy Meier). And before the cynics and skeptics chime in, we've charted over 130 specific examples of prophetically accurate scientific information from Meier...devoid of any verifiably inaccurate information.
Search, think and wonder...why you haven't heard about all this before.
I guess Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck are out of work now in 2036.
2013 Feb 14 - 16
ALL THAT EVER LIVED ON EARTH WILL SOON HAVE THEIR EYES TO THE HEAVENS
Do a little History on this one.
ALL Should Look Up "2012 DA14".
This could take out one of more satellites and the junk and debris from the hit could end up taking out many more satellites very soon after that. All the satellite collision probability will go way up if even one is hit. The velocity that the parts would go to would make them missiles that would start targeting a chain reaction this would not be good.
Most all will be watching this one and pray it goes by us without a hit. Every Scientist alive will be watching this event. Many will be in Florida for a very special viewing of the once in a Lifetime Event. Professors, Scientist, World Leaders, Ham Radio Operators and Every Astronomer will have its eyes on This Event, along with almost every TV set on Earth.
"2012 DA14" goes by Earth twice a year and there is no way anyone for sure, can tell how close the second pass will be till it passes by the Moon and Earth and the GRAVITATIONAL FORCE effect that it will have on this Asteroid.
They may come close but this one is already coming very close to begin with. Too close this time or on its second or 3rd pass? Ad a Meteor Shower like the 13 and 14 of December of 2012, it might go through or bump into one of them? Or all the other more then 20,00 pieces of orbital debris like Spent Rocket Boosters left in space that can no longer be moved by a control center on Earth. Or add a Solar Flare. Or a Comet ISON or its tail debris of millions of rocks of all sizes.
If a big enough one were to slam into the moon in the night sky you would think the sun was coming up early only it would be 5 to 7 times as bright. From The Sun's Rays Reflection on all the Debris Field.
2012 XM16, 2012 XM55, 2012 XP55, THERE ARE OVER 25 found just in the year 2012 that are part of the Near Earth Object Program that will come close to Earth from now till 2012 DA14 comes, Feb 14 - 16, 2013.
You do not want to know how many are on the "PLANETARY DEFENSE" list.
The PLANETARY DEFENSE is not to protect Earth from men from Mars.
It is for all mankind with most all Nation in on it to stop if can most all collision with EARTH from a ASTEROID IMPACT. It is if you will a AVOIDANCE SHIELD. "N.E.O.S. Near Earth Object Shield".
If only one were to hit or IMPACT EARTH on land get ready for a winter you will never forget. The winter from 1883 -1884 KRAKATOA you will think was a little pebble, and now the stone comes.
A Shock Wave was felt in England from a Event about 7:15 to 7:20 A.M. Siberia time in the morning in June of the year 1908 high in the sky above the Forest in the remote wilderness of Tunguska Siberia heard an explosion that laid flat more than 800 square miles of the forest with all the trees pointing away from the center of the blast with most all the trees laying on their side. Some trees that were right below the blast were still there looking like telephone poles with no bark or branches left on them. This Asteroid did not even hit the Ground and this is known by most as the TUNGUSKA EVENT. For all that lived there it was WORMWOOD Rev 8:11 the wood became full of worms and the rivers water no longer sweet and undrinkable.
If a Meteor Shower is big enough you might think all the stars are falling from Heaven.
About one every 100 years makes it into the Earth’s Atmosphere big enough for all to take note. Some make it to the surface the signs are all over the Planet and moon from the ones that have.
If you need a visual sign of a collided impact with a planet look to
"SHOEMAKER - LEVY 9" July 1994.
You Need More Look up "PROJECT WORMWOOD" Revelations 8: 10 - 11 based on the "TUNGUSKA EVENT" 1908
Better to be safe then sorry.
GET READY
Read your Bible
While you still can,
and May our Lord GOD Bless all that do so.
John 14 : 6
Luke 13 : 27
Matthew 7 : 20 - 27
Matthew 12:39
Matthew 24:3 - 14
The Lord's Little Helper.
Paul Felix Schott.
December 24 - 26, 2013 the Heavens above COMET "C/2012 S1", "ISON".
ALL ON EARTH WILL SEE THIS NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE. the night side of earth will become day and and day will be blinding bright.
Shortly there after you will think the stars are falling from the Heavens, from ISON long tail if it dose not eat Mars first and makes it around the SUN.
P.S.
Help others in are Lord's name Jesus Christ help bring all to know him while you still can.
And what a surprise - Paul Felix posts the exact same thing again. The exact same thing he posted as comment #3 above ("collapsed by the community"), and the exact same thing he's posted multiple other times on other threads.
It's still wrong.
Once again Paul Felix takes a little rock, blows it out of ALL proportion, and uses the generated unreasonable fear to plug his version of religion.
How terribly, terribly, sad.
Every scientist? Not more than a handful. Every TV on Earth? I'd bet pretty close to none. Many will be in Florida? No idea why Florida is mentioned - no astronomical significance for this event; but my guess is that Paul Felix has a time share there and is having trouble renting it out during the off-season.
Since he posts the same thing over and over again are we able to just report this as advertising at this point? So much is just copy and paste.
Mitchell
now the time share explanation - that makes sense michael!
I wonder what kind of religion the dinosaurs had.? Were they not devout enough? Did the rock care...?
I believe in God (I know the atheists on this site are rolling over....) - in the end nobody knows the day of our end (and that is told in the bible) - its funny the person who referenced the bible was attacked by the closed minded "progressives" the fact that you do not believe its perfectly fine, all I ask is that you open your eyes and see how a society of religious tolerance is morphing to a country of religious intolerance (try to ask the children in school for a moment of silence which they could use for prayer or thinking about the latest video game...watch the liberals "they might use it for prayer....no way....not in school you don't" - something is VERY wrong with this world....Obama is leading the charge...."I know that your religion is against abortion and contraception....but you need to pay for that under Obamacare"....huh??)
All the more reason to send a Nuke to an Asteroid (better yet, several Nukes - one to 'each type' of Asteroid and/or Comet Nucleus/Fragment), and then PRACTICE both blowing them up and trying to 'nudge' them into a New Orbit.
Also.....Why move a C-Class Asteroid into Lunar Orbit? There's MILLIONS of them already ON THE MOON ITSELF!!!
In fact, because they've 'impacted', been 'vaporized', and 'rained back down on the surface', one could say that - in the case of Lunar Impactor Originated Ores - the Good Stuff has already been 'ground up', and that it is thus 'ready to go into the smelter'!!!
If we added planets to Earth, then we'd be bigger than any asteroid.