Here in
southeastern
Michigan,
the last
two weeks
of December 2018
were the start
of the consistently
coldest three
consecutive week
period since
I moved here
from New York
in 1977.
This year, in 2019,
the last two weeks
of December
have been
unusually warm.
Comparing
unusually cold,
to unusually warm,
who in
their right mind
would prefer
unusually cold ?
Why is anyone frightened
by the slight global warming
... that has been in progress,
intermittently, since the 1690s ?
I guess some people
have a need to be
fearful of the future.
So how about something
that could do real damage ?
Our solar system
is full of dangerous
giant space rocks.
You could be hit by
a giant space rock
at any time.
That's a real danger !
For protection,
I plan to wear
a bicycle helmet,
lined with
aluminum foil,
at all times,
and I will
look up
at the sky
frequently !
( heh heh )
The following story
is interesting,
but seems strange.
My first thought:
Taxpayers' money
being wasted.
My second thought:
Is this really about
deflecting asteroids,
or is that just a cover
story for the creation
of a new military
"space force" ?
The White House Office
of Science and Technology
Policy released an
18-page report in 2018
titled “National Near-Earth
Object Preparedness
Strategy and Action Plan”.
The report outlines steps
NASA and the Federal
Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) will take
over the next 10 years
to prevent dangerous
asteroids from
striking Earth,
and prepare
the country for
the consequences
of such an event,
if prevention fails.
But NASA has not
even identified
most of the giant
space rocks
that are floating
around out there.
In July, a 427-foot-wide
asteroid whizzed within
45,000 miles of Earth,
traveling at 55,000mph
-- measuring 426 feet
by 187ft (130m x 57m),
45,000 miles
is less than
20% of the distance
between Earth
and the moon,
considered
to be very close,
if you were
an astronomer!
According to
leaked emails,
NASA officials
only knew about it
about 24 hours
before it
whizzed by !
If had it hit,
it could have
devastated a city
the size of London
with over 30 times
the energy of the
Hiroshima atomic
blast.
2007 FT3 is
another asteroid.
It
“might hit the planet
on Oct. 2, 2024”
According to NASA,
it would hit at a speed
of approximately
46,000 miles per hour,
and “create a crater
that’s several miles long"
The estimated diameter
is about 1,115 feet,
almost as tall as the
Empire State Building.
And how about Apophis,
on April 13, 2029 ?
from Wikipedia:
"The closest known
approach of Apophis
comes on
April 13, 2029,
when the asteroid
comes to within
a distance of around
31,000 kilometres
from Earth’s surface.
The distance,
a hair’s breadth
in astronomical terms,
is ten times closer
than the moon,
and even
closer than
some man
made satellites.
It will
be the
closest
asteroid
of its size
in recorded
history.
On that date, it will become
as bright as magnitude 3.1
(visible to the naked eye
from rural as well as darker
suburban areas, visible
with binoculars
from most locations).
The close approach
will be visible from Europe,
Africa, and western Asia."
Russian scientists
announced they
have developed
intercontinental
ballistic missiles
to destroy
asteroid
Apophis !
Also referred to as
"99942 Apophis,
it measures
210-330 meters
(690-1080 feet)
in diameter.
According to
a Slate article
by astronomer
Phil Plait,
“it would release
the energy
equivalent
to more than
1 billion tons
of TNT exploding,
at least 20 times more
than the largest nuke
ever detonated!”
Russian scientists warned
that Apophis could have
“hundreds of opportunities
to hit the Earth over the
course of the next century”.
The Russians have
suddenly decided
to create
an organization
to detect, track
and potentially destroy
incoming asteroids,
meteors and comets.
“As part of the creation
of a monitoring system
and information support
for the safety
of space activities
in near-Earth space,
we plan to launch
the Russian Center for
Small Celestial Bodies,
whose main task
will be to detect and
track celestial bodies
approaching Earth,”
said Igor Bakaras,
a senior official at
Roscosmos subsidiary
TsNIIMash, to the
Russian-owned
news agency Sputnik.
Roscosmos,
the Russian
equivalent of NASA,
wants to figure out
if it’s possible
to destroy
celestial objects,
or deflect them
to new trajectories,
away from Earth.
This could involve
slamming a
‘kinetic impactor’
craft in the rock,
or using a satellite
to drag it onto
a new course.
Nukes could be
sent into space
to blow up, or
deflect, the rocks.
A new department
at Roscosmos is called
the "Russian Centre
for Celestial Bodies".
This sudden move
by the Russians comes
just one year
after the U.S. issued
their “National
Near-Earth Object
Preparedness Strategy
and Action Plan".
With President Trump
recently signing a huge
military spending bill,
that includes a new
"Space Force",
I can only wonder
if deflecting asteroids,
traveling at 40,000
to 60,000 miles per hour,
is really the primary goal,
or even a sensible goal ?
Isn't there a 70% chance
any asteroid would land
in an ocean, which are 70%
of our planet's surface ?
Couldn't a deflection
make things worse ?
As a libertarian,
I never trust
governments.
Do you ?