An asteroid the size of the one that struck Siberia 100 years ago (and exploded with the force of 1,000 nukes) came within 50,000 miles of the planet yesterday. While that may sound far off, it's a near miss in astronomical terms...being only twice the distance from the surface as our satellites.
Which leads me to the question...if an asteroid was about to hit the Earth, who would you call:
Robert Duvall (Capt. "Fish" Tanner)
or
Bruce Willis (Harry Stamper)?
Showing posts with label asteroid collision. Show all posts
Showing posts with label asteroid collision. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Friday, March 09, 2007
Death by Asteroid
Scientists say that one's chances of dying by being hit by an asteroid are the same as dying in an airplane crash if you fly only once a year.
For some reason that statistic is not very reassuring. Not that I walk around fearing being hit by a bit of spacial detritus.
Reminds me of a story: My grandfather was an avid golfer and he spent many afternoons in his backyard with his irons hitting balls across the field. One afternoon my grandmother noticed that her prized birdhouse had mysteriously been demolished. "What happened?" she asked grandpa.
With golf club in hand, my grandad said, "a piece of the Skylab fell on it."
Only those of you roughly my astronomical age will get that reference.
For some reason that statistic is not very reassuring. Not that I walk around fearing being hit by a bit of spacial detritus.
Reminds me of a story: My grandfather was an avid golfer and he spent many afternoons in his backyard with his irons hitting balls across the field. One afternoon my grandmother noticed that her prized birdhouse had mysteriously been demolished. "What happened?" she asked grandpa.
With golf club in hand, my grandad said, "a piece of the Skylab fell on it."
Only those of you roughly my astronomical age will get that reference.
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