MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > An asteroid hit is overdue

An asteroid hit is overdue

posted 4 years ago by Allison44 (602)
26 replies | jump to latest

It could all end tomorrow. Do you think the powers that be would warn us if they knew one was dead on going to impact Earth? Or would it be futile? Would you even want to know?

[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 4 years ago

Maybe a huge ice asteroid with frozen sea creatures within that can thrive in our oceans and that are the most delicious thing we as humans have ever tasted. And it only cost us France.

[–] CKid (3842) 4 years ago

"And it only cost us France."

But that would be an unmitigated tragedy if it meant that I could no longer enjoy French Toast, French Fries and French Onion Soup.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

That’s a price we may be willing to pay.

[–] jonathan_k80 (6436) 4 years ago

They are required to issue warnings. This is from the official NASA site:

The [Planetary Defense Coordination Office] is responsible for providing timely and accurate information to the government, the media, and the public on close approaches to Earth by potentially hazardous objects (PHOs) and any potential for impact. If any PHO is found to pose a significant chance of impacting Earth (greater than 1 percent over the next 50 years), the PDCO will provide notification messages for NASA to send to the Executive Office of the President, the U.S. Congress, and other government departments and agencies.

You can read the entire explanation at: https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/overview

[–] Allison44 (602) 4 years ago

Gracias!

[–] jonathan_k80 (6436) 4 years ago

¡De nada!

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

When you say overdue, I am not sure what you mean? Are they supposed to come on some sort of schedule?

[–] Allison44 (602) 4 years ago

Yes. Every 300 thousand years or so per the geological record.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

That’s on average. Intervals between actual big impacts can be a lot shorter and a lot longer.

Also, on a scale of very long stretches of time the supply of large Earth-crossing bodies gets smaller, because the population has been colliding with Earth inelastically. The impact risk eases off with time. The density billions of years ago was so high that life on Earth wasn’t yet possible, owing to the rate of collisions.

[–] Adam60z (3781) 4 years ago

Trump knows it's on the way. He just thinks it's going to disappear like a miracle!

[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 4 years ago

Remember how stupid and irritating it was when people couldn't stop whining about Obama whenever they opened their mouth?

[–] beavis (3249) 4 years ago

it would be all over the news and we would prepare for it