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Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Fineus on July 30, 2002, 05:37:27 am

Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Fineus on July 30, 2002, 05:37:27 am
This is a half comedy/half fact (?) post, as taken from the Daily Mail - a UK paper - on Tuesday 30th.

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Astronomers have dismissed the posisibility that a 1.4 Mile wide asteroid will crash into Earth in Febuary 2019 - but will not rule out future collisions.

So yay, we're safe once again.
But what's this? Scientists won't garuntee that no other rock will ever hit the Earth? wow, and I thought they knew everything!

Gah... the Mail is so pathetic.
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Kazashi on July 30, 2002, 09:12:09 am
You.... *read*... a newspaper.... ????

Continuing the half comedy/half fact theme:

I used to read the Sunday paper, until I grew up. But, after a brief encounter, I still think they don't have anything on the British editions.

Most people will probably add this to the list of overhyped and unnecessary scares, like the astronomers who miscalculated the orbit of that comet (Temple? Tuttle?). But sooner or later, we'll get hit. Then there won't be any newspapers left :D
Title: Re: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Black Wolf on July 30, 2002, 09:20:36 am
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Originally posted by Thunder
Asteroid to miss Earth...


Dammit! And I was aiming so well too...
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Redfang on July 30, 2002, 09:27:26 am
Yeah, I read about that today, too. I hope there will not be other asteroids coming...
 
It's strange how they can count everything so accurately, even if it's 17 years away, and small.
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Styxx on July 30, 2002, 09:35:04 am
Erm, actually, I don't think it's all that stupid if they're referring to this:

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risk/

Scary, ain't it?
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: CP5670 on July 30, 2002, 09:44:01 am
Look at those impact probabilities, though. :p
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Styxx on July 30, 2002, 09:52:58 am
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Originally posted by CP5670
Look at those impact probabilities, though. :p


You realize that they're in a [0,1] scale, right? One percent probability doesn't seem a lot, but if it's the probability of all life being decimated on Earth, I still think it's pretty scary.
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: StratComm on July 30, 2002, 09:56:38 am
Yeah, but there's also that Torinno (sp?) scale thing.  Only one of the objects on that list even merits further monitoring.  The rest have "no likely consequences" so if something is going to kill us all in the next hundred years, I promise it is not on that list.
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Unknown Target on July 30, 2002, 10:16:31 am
Lol!

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Impact
Prob.
(cum.)


Srry, sick sex joke right there :D

Anyways, don't worry, we'll be on Mars by the time something big hits us (not counting Bill Gates)
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Redfang on July 30, 2002, 10:20:57 am
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Originally posted by Unkown Target
Anyways, don't worry, we'll be on Mars by the time something big hits us (not counting Bill Gates)

 
Yeah, right. I'm quite sure that it isn't possible to transport earth's people to safe place, where you can live, in a long time, as in Mars you can't, much needs to be done to make it possible. And Mars is far away. Moon maybe, but it's pretty small for over 6 billion people.
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Zeronet on July 30, 2002, 10:55:24 am
Who said anything about 6 billion people?
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: CP5670 on July 30, 2002, 10:56:39 am
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You realize that they're in a [0,1] scale, right? One percent probability doesn't seem a lot, but if it's the probability of all life being decimated on Earth, I still think it's pretty scary.


Even still, a 1/1000000 chance does not account for enough to worry over it.
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Redfang on July 30, 2002, 11:00:26 am
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Originally posted by Zeronet
Who said anything about 6 billion people?

 
If they want to save all the humans, then that's over 6 billion.
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Stunaep on July 30, 2002, 11:11:52 am
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Originally posted by Redfang

 
Yeah, right. I'm quite sure that it isn't possible to transport earth's people to safe place, where you can live, in a long time, as in Mars you can't, much needs to be done to make it possible. And Mars is far away. Moon maybe, but it's pretty small for over 6 billion people.


Screw Moon, even Earth is too little for 6 billion
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: an0n on July 30, 2002, 12:36:43 pm
Can't help but think this was just a fund raising exercise.
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Knight Templar on July 30, 2002, 01:54:50 pm
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1994 UG 2025-2102 85 7.3e-06 6.31 21.3  0.187 -3.37 -3.51 0


eeeeeepp!!
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Dark_4ce on July 30, 2002, 02:03:21 pm
God knows how many have allready flow by us which we don't know about?! :shaking:
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Stunaep on July 30, 2002, 03:14:16 pm
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Originally posted by an0n
Can't help but think this was just a fund raising exercise.


hey it's summer. The press needs something to write about. :doubt:
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: aldo_14 on July 30, 2002, 04:05:18 pm
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Originally posted by CP5670


Even still, a 1/1000000 chance does not account for enough to worry over it.


It does if there are over 1000000 things out there to hit us.
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: StratComm on July 30, 2002, 05:59:41 pm
Don't even get me started on probabilities.  Not that it is the exact same thing, but that's like saying that if you flipped a coin twice it would have to land on heads at least once.  Just don't work that way.
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Flipside on July 30, 2002, 07:09:11 pm
Look at it this way, if one hit tomorrow, you're screwed, end of story :)

Look at it this way, 50 years ago, people were imagining life on Mars. Then we wen't there and proved there wasn't. Then we went back and said 'Coo! There IS life after all!'.

Science Fact is only ever as accurate as the understanding behind it, they could change all the rules tomorrow ;)

Sorry, cryptic mood :)

Oh yes, and better luck next time Wolf, I think I've got a nice comet lying around here somewhere...........
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Snakeseyes on July 30, 2002, 09:11:18 pm
I don't believe in propabilities.

As someone else said, something that has a .000000001% propability to happen, happens in 9 out of 10 times.
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: CP5670 on July 30, 2002, 09:29:25 pm
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It does if there are over 1000000 things out there to hit us.


They only have some 20 or so listed on that site though. It is possible that most of them have been undetected, but then again you must consider the fact that no really large asteroid (i.e. with continental destructive power, the kind we are talking about here) has hit the Earth as far back as recorded history goes. :D

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Look at it this way, if one hit tomorrow, you're screwed, end of story :)


Sure, but you could also be hit by a car tomorrow or get mugged in the street by gangsters, along with a thousand other similar events, but that should not keep you constantly worrying about them. :D (the probabilities of these things happening are hundreds of times higher actually :D)
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Tar-Palantir on July 31, 2002, 03:15:28 am
So sleep well everyone.
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Stryke 9 on July 31, 2002, 03:17:48 am
Yees, sleep...

Though my asteroid plot failed, I still have my subliminal in-dream brainwashing device! Huhahahaha*cough*
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Dr.Zer0 on July 31, 2002, 07:34:39 am
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Originally posted by Kazashi
You.... *read*... a newspaper.... ????



I never read them, too meny words :doubt:

err, I keep hitting the top of the 2nd page
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Flipside on July 31, 2002, 12:13:34 pm
That's my point entirely, if it was on the news tomorrow that an asteroid was going to hit us in a week or something, there is nothing whatsoever you could do about it, I'm sure if we have enough warning we might think of something, but then most governments would spend so long on 'who's idea is best' and 'how much will it cost' that it'd hit before they stopped arguing :)

Don't worry, be happy :)
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Kellan on August 02, 2002, 12:07:22 pm
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Originally posted by CP5670
They only have some 20 or so listed on that site though. It is possible that most of them have been undetected, but then again you must consider the fact that no really large asteroid (i.e. with continental destructive power, the kind we are talking about here) has hit the Earth as far back as recorded history goes. :D


Gee, I wonder why the history before hypothetical extinction-level strikes hasn't been recorded. I think, CP, that that's the whole point of recorded history. :p

I don't think we'll be hit in my lifetime. The Hard Rain will fall before the Big Rocks, rest assured. Still, at least it would wipe out the Daily Mail. :nod:
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: TheVirtu on August 02, 2002, 12:13:00 pm
Did you guys hear about the 12 mile wide crater they found in the ocean? (Cant remember what ocean) It was supposedly made by part of the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs.

THANK YOU for getting rid of the Dinosaurs, now just stay away from us. :)
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Flipside on August 02, 2002, 12:16:06 pm
Great, we're all gonna get wiped out by one of God's hot-rocks :) LOL
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: CP5670 on August 02, 2002, 12:30:38 pm
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Gee, I wonder why the history before hypothetical extinction-level strikes hasn't been recorded. I think, CP, that that's the whole point of recorded history.


okay, but the recorded history still goes back a good 3000 years or so. Besides, I am not saying that there is no possibility of this occuring; what I am saying is that there is nothing to be gaining in living out the rest of our lives constantly worrying about it. :p :D
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Kellan on August 02, 2002, 12:36:55 pm
I was just pointing out the absurdity of using recorded history to judge this issue. :)

BTW: Nice title you have there now... ;)
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: CP5670 on August 02, 2002, 12:39:40 pm
Good enough for our lifetimes, though. (and those of our great-great-great-great-great-etc. descendants :D)

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BTW: Nice title you have there now... ;)


My user was messed up a few weeks ago, so the admins just dropped in a new title while they were fixing things up. ;)
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: an0n on August 02, 2002, 12:39:58 pm
They've found a massive underwater crater 20 miles off the coast from Hull. 60 million years old. I'd say that's a pretty good candidate for extinctifying the dinosaurs.
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Stealth on August 03, 2002, 12:50:27 am
wow

do you have a link to a newspage on it or something?  i want to find out more about it! :)
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Kellan on August 03, 2002, 05:43:34 pm
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Originally posted by an0n
They've found a massive underwater crater 20 miles off the coast from Hull. 60 million years old. I'd say that's a pretty good candidate for extinctifying the dinosaurs.


Wow, geological proof that Hull exists somewhere near the Seventh Circle of Hell. :D
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Flipside on August 04, 2002, 06:03:23 am
ROFLMAO!!!!

Just add it to the list of evidence. ;7
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Sandwich on August 04, 2002, 07:20:10 am
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Originally posted by an0n
...for extinctifying the dinosaurs.


I do believe that you just coined a new word. Extinctifying. Hmmm. I'll have to remember that.
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Kazashi on August 04, 2002, 07:41:51 am
I believe this page (http://www.newsday.com/news/science/wire/sns-ap-north-sea-crater0731jul31.story?coll=sns-ap-science-headlines) has the story you're looking for.

Something of interest to note is that the asteroid which was supposed to have hit the Yucatan wasn't the sole cause of extinctifying the dinosaurs. According to what's been found so far, dinosaur numbers were dropping in number a million years before the impact, and were still around a million years after the event. Maybe this other rock could've had an impact (no pun intended) further down the track, though only being a mere fraction the size of the former. But remember, 5 million years is a long time.
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Dark_4ce on August 04, 2002, 07:53:02 am
Yeah, I heard about that in the news. Who knows. It might be correct. I for one believe that the dinosaurs died out more slowly, from frequent asteroid impacts instead of just one. But like I said, who knows. My absolute FAVORITE theory is one brought on by my friend during a time of mental instability... He hypothesised that the dinosaurs in fact became REALLY REALLY smart and advanced after so many years of evolution. Then during the peak of they're civilization they were able to track the incoming comet/asteroid that was going to hit the Earth and decided to pack everything up before it hit. They built giant spaceships and finally left the Earth the day the asteroid/comet impacted. Now the favorite part of this theory is that he even had a explanation for the fossils. They were the dead burnt bodies of the dinosaurs left behind  that were under the giant rocket engines when the spaceships took off! :D :lol: He also theorised that the dinosaurs are still up there, behind the moon, monitoring us and experimenting with us, so that they can find our weakneses and one day re-take the Earth! :D He also beleived that the States knows about this Dinosaur space station behind the moon, but it would cost too much money for them to go there and attack it.

Heheheh... I just love that guys theories...
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Kazashi on August 04, 2002, 08:13:20 am
I've heard something like that before, and apparently so did the writers from ST: Voyager. Dinosaurs evolving during all that time to develop space travel, then leaving Earth while erasing all knowledge of their advanced culture. Apparently some forms of dinosaur, if they continued to evolve, would look a little like those classic aliens with bald heads and big eyes. Though supposedly they'd have a tiny little tail as well.  

As I said just before, 5 million years is a long time :)
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Dark_4ce on August 04, 2002, 08:29:07 am
Heh. :D Anyway, My friend had this theory long before Voyager came out. But it's probably written in a book somwhere... :D
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Ryx on August 04, 2002, 08:31:42 am
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Originally posted by Kazashi
I've heard something like that before, and apparently so did the writers from ST: Voyager.


That episode is called Distant Origin (http://www.startrek.com/library/episodes_voy_detail.asp?ID=69006).

episode review: http://www.treknews.com/deltablues/distantorigins.html
Title: Asteroid to miss Earth...
Post by: Sandwich on August 04, 2002, 01:21:03 pm
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Originally posted by Kazashi
...a little like those classic aliens with bald heads and big eyes.


Oh, thooose aliens! Of course! *smacks hand on forehead*


:nervous: