Giant Asteroid may it earth in 2014

www.cnn.com...


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LONDON, England (Reuters) -- A giant asteroid is heading for Earth and could hit in 2014, U.S. astronomers have warned British space monitors.

Well this is some cause for alarm

[Edited on 2-9-2003 by Shining Wizard]

1 in a million..... but we could get lucky!

Something a mile across hitting the earth would definitely hurt.

Wow, just think.... It may actually be quite exciting.

I once saw a feature length series called the last train, of course it was fictional, but it was really scary and weird.

YAY!! Its gonna be a blast!

I'm just gonna sit in my garden, play REM "its the end of the world" and watch the world go to hell...

Seriously now, we've had numerous threats like these, it was always a miss.

But it is important to remember that last time may indeed not be this time.


Food for thought......

Hmmm. well i guess 51 is old enough. oh well.

JESUS H CHRIST!!!!

That makes eight asteroids hurtling towards earth with an ETA of AD 2014, and discovered by astute ATS members, in the past 24 hours!!!!!

coincidence? I think not!

In anycase just make satelites armed with nuclear warheads, or have many many nukes aimed at the rocks and blow em to hell just to be safe.

Originally posted by MaskedAvatar
JESUS H CHRIST!!!!

That makes eight asteroids hurtling towards earth with an ETA of AD 2014, and discovered by astute ATS members, in the past 24 hours!!!!!

I am in no dire need of your sarcasm, go obfuscate on someone else's thread.


thanks

Granted, 1 in a million is not odds to get too excited about, however, keep 2 things in mind.

1, this is the US government telling you this... do you really trust them? They have already admitted that they would NOT inform the public in the event of a global killer impact if imminent...

2, IF it was to hit, please refer to the following as a guide to exactly what might happen...

(posted from the Comet thread)


I have already mentioned the likelihood of an impact taking place in the southern hemisphere, as that is the direction NEAT is approaching from, and if it takes place, would likely be in the Pacific. Since we don�t know the exact size, velocity, or composition of the object, the best that I can do is use the Dino-Killer asteroid as an example, as that is the only event we have any hard evidence from. (I would like to make one statement however THAT NASA IS NOT HELPING THE SITUATION BY REFUSING TO SHARE SPECIFIC ACCURATE INFORMATION!!!!!!!!!!!)

Assuming that Dino-Killer impacted the south Pacific ocean (remember, Dino-Killer was about 6 miles in diameter, and the average comet nucleus is between 10 and 150 miles in diameter, however, something as small as 1 mile in diameter could still wipe out most of a hemisphere). From time of impact, there would be a double tidal wave generated, as well as tens of millions of cubic feet of water vaporized, and at least an equal volume of rock thrown into the stratosphere. The initial tidal wave would likely cause 100% fatalities in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hawaii, the Phillipines, most of the coastal/island nations of the Pacific Rim, and would take out the US west coast, likely all the way to the Rockies (Las Vegas really could be ocean front property!) Most of central South America may well be spared, due to the high elevation of the Andes Mountains along the west coast of Chile and Peru. However, the Panama Canal Zone would be totally inundated, along with many areas of Central America. India and much of south Asia would share a similar fate. This would all happen within 0-3 hours or so of impact for the first tidal wave (estimated to be about 2-3 miles in height), with the second following less than an hour later (I doubt the 2nd would make any difference as there will likely be no survivors to notice). At this point we are talking at least 1 billion fatalities inside of 3 hours.

At the same time, from impact to 4 hours, expect large amounts of seismic activity, although not confined to the area directly opposite the impact zone. If you live near a known seismic zone, you will be affected. In the US, the San Andreas will be a non-issue due to the tidal wave, but I would expect severe activity associated with the New Madrid Fault Zone around Tennesee/Kentucky area.

Following these events, within 6-18 hours, the second round of tidal waves will arrive in the opposite side of the globe, in the Atlantic. Because a great deal of the energy will be depleted around the Pacific Rim, this one won�t be as high or devestating, although I would still expect a wall of water in excess of 1000 feet high to hit along most of the eastern seaboard, the gulf coast area, and along Europe/Africa. In the US, all of Florida will be gone, as well as large portions of the gulf coast region, and all along the eastern seaboard, likely as far inland for at least 10-30 miles, depending on topography. I would expect severe loss of life, as this is where a large % of the American population is concentrated, as well as in Portugal, France, Italy, Spain, the British Isles, and other exposed areas. At this point, I believe we may realistically be expecting 1/3 to � of the human population to have been wiped out.

Within 24-72 hours of impact, I would expect extreme downpours to begin around the world. This is due to the fact that the large volume of water vaporized on impact would begin to condense out of the atmosphere. Areas that survived the flood intact would still be at risk of localized flooding, as this is likely to be rainfall rates of feet/hour, and likely be global in extent. Also, this rain will likely bring down large amounts of rock and solid debris thrown into the atmosphere, so large numbers of mudslides are also likely.

Within 72-96 hours of impact, and lasting for at least weeks or longer, we will then have to deal with the mateial fall out of the impact. Large clouds of dust and debris will descend locally, depending on weather conditions. The density of these dustfalls could easily be great enough to cause suffocation/asphyxiation of anyone caught in the open. (Paleontologists have found evidence that large herds of animals were caught in the open in dustfalls, and hundreds dropped dead in thier tracks from dust suffocation.) This factor will likely be exacerbated by a spate of volcanism that will be induced and associated with the seismic activity immediately after impact.

One hazard that I just thought of also will be associated with these dust falls: Irridium. Irridium is a low grade radioactive material, that is rare in nature by relatively common in nickle/iron asteroids, and possibly in comets. This is the material that helped nail down the Dino-Killer Asteroid that ended the Cretacious by depositing an even layer of irridium across the globe after impact. Irridium is a very low level radioactive, so it will likely not cause radiation sickness in and of itself (although I suppose if you were coated in irridium dust for long periods, you could get surface radiation burns), however, it will likely be in the atmosphere in large amounts of dust.... if it were in sufficient density, and you were to inhale sufficient quantities, it would stay in your lungs in constant contact, and potentially cause lung cancers and other very unpleasant side effects. (Ironically, this and the dust falls may be the one job that the military MOPP gear is perfectly suited for).

Starting within a week or less, expect dramatic global climate changes, for the colder. There is no solid evidence of how long the nuclear winter could last, although it has been speculated that the Dino-Killer nuclear winter lasted anywhere from 50 to 200 years. Of course this doesnt mean the entire planet will end up as antarctica, but whatever climate you currently live in, expect it to be equivalent to moving 500-1000 feet higher in altitude at a minimum. Food production and the ecosystem in general will be very severely affected.

At this point, for the human survivors, cooperation on a scale never thought of before, combined with the best of technology and resourcefulness will be needed in order to make it through.