What is Digg?Warning: The Content in this Article May be Inaccurate
Readers have reported that this story contains information that may not be accurate.82 Comments
- JamesWilson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2need a combo item: ok this is lame + inaccurate
- BladeMelbourne, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'll keep Liv Tyler safe then :-)
- chris_hale, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Boy... got suckered by an old april fools joke.
Note... a lot of countries put the day before the month. - theone3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"What Gnascher said."
Instead of wasting space, just rate the comment ;) - saifatlast, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Here's a better translation:
>>>The asteroid ALH2804-C, discovered on 12/18/04 had been classified as a "Category 2", meaning "Close Crash" because its course will take was to take it within 100,000 km of the Earth. New calculations show, however, that it's course has changed in the last few months, and that the new course will bring it closer to the Earth. According to the astronomers at Kit-Peak Observatory, there is a 98% chance that the asteroid will collide with the Earth in August 2006.
The asteroid has a diameter of 2km and is classified a "Gloabl Killer." Should it impact onland, it will will cause a global climate catasrophe. If it hits the Ocean, it'll cause Tsunamis so high that the Tsunami in South East Asia would like like a small wave. The waves would reach peaks of 100m and would come hundreds of kilometers inland, destroying everything in their path.
NASA, ESA and the Russian space program are holding a emergency conference to figure out what can be done. According to a NASA speaker, NASA has long had plans for such a situation and these will be discussed in further detail.
It's still unclear where the Asteroid will hit and agencies are searching urgently for a way to change the Asteroid's course. According to NASA, the Space Shuttle fleet would play a big roll in any plans.
Every large telescope in the world is now tracking the asteroid to constantly measure it's course. - Gnascher, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Well, the translation was too crappy to wade through, so I'll weigh in my opinion on asteroid collisions in general.
1. It is a foregone conclusion that sooner or later we WILL suffer a collision with an asteroid, or other large object from space. There's no reason it couldn't be tomorrow, a month from now, or sixteen generations in the future. We just don't know.
2. Presently there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that we can do about it if a sufficiently massive object is discovered to be heading our way.
3. Given the inevitbility of #1, and the grim fact presented in #2 ... I'd personally like to be kept pleasantly in the dark at the moment if the doomsday asteroid is going to hit in 6-months. That way, I'll just wake up dead on the day of the impact with no anxheity leading up to the inevitibility. - Chas555, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I believe this asteriod is (2004 XP14) and will be within the distance of the moon on July 03, 2006
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/neo_ca?type=PHA&hmax=all&sort=date&sdir=ASC&tlim=future&dmax=0.1AU&max_rows=50&action=Display+Table&show=1 - theone3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Voted as inaccurate. 1st April 05 article.
- bemenaker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Now instead of one giant asteroid hitting the earth, you'll be bombarded like a meteor shower with tiny asteroids... that are RADIOACTIVE! yes!"
Because there is no radiation in space. Because direct exposure to the sun does not contaminate EVERYTHING with radioactive particles.
This is the common mistake of arguing against nuclear anything in space.
One idea on the nuke the 'roid theory, why not send the thousands of nukes at intervals so they detonate in intervals, one at a time or in small groups, off to the side of a 'roid. It's a bank shot just like playing pool. You start the barrage far enough out, and you just keep tapping into a seperate course. The main plan from NASA is a small engine you land and do a similar thing. - Balcora, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Very credible looking website they have goin...
- geminitojanus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"You do know that an atomic/nuclear/hydrogen bomb does NOT have a theoretical limit right? If worse comes to worse we could vaporize it, if in fact this is even real."
Actually atomic weapony (which would be a type 1 nuclear weapon, Plutonium/Uranium Fission device) does have a limit, and the Russian's did a lot of experimenting with nuclear weapons just to see what that limit would be.
However, the Americans realized that there are weapons that greatly outclass the strongest of atomic fission weaponry, that's atomic /fusion/ weaponry; Thermonuclear weapons. Thermonuclear weapons are far more powerful, but even these weapons have a limit as to the size of their construction.
As a likely "last ditch effort" in a case like this, all of the countries on earth could fire their thermonuclear weapons at an oncoming asteroid, but it's far more likely that it would simply break the asteroid into pieces and cause even more havok.
What's more, our current weapons delivery package for these thermonuclear weapons doesn't allow for precision targetting in space, so a new software system and tests would have to be done to see if it is even feasable (the last generation of thermonuclear warheads produced had a hard limit of how far they could fly, roughly 1/2 way around the world, and were designed to be ballistic; only part of their flight would be under power, just enough to get them into space and in a "parking orbit" or "stalling orbit" over their intended drop location). What's likely is that if we did fire our weapons in their current state, they would simply explode between the planet and the asteroid, and it's currently unknown if this would change the orbit/trajectory of either enough to make a difference.
Anywho, whereas this one is a fake, there are a few of these buggers NASA currently has their eye on that could possibly finish life as we know it on the planet. There's one slated to come within 200,000km in 2027 that I remember reading about on Slashdot about a year back, which in the cosmic marble game is a smokingly near miss. - Phoenixfury, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I nominate Morgan Freeman for president! If anyone can figure out a solution for this, surely it's got to be him. :)
- dandyhighwayman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1All you have to do is fire up your little triangle-shaped space cruiser and shoot those little dots at it.
Uh oh, shields down. Game over. - NavARXIDA, on 07/08/2008, -0/+1The world ended again at 2006 and i missed it ?! Damn... maybe next time i be more "lucky" !
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0no WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY.
- SteveChisnall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The TRUTH is that there IS something we can do. Explode a bomb in space such that the wind of the explosion deflects the asteroid enough that it won't hit the earth
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Digg + for Google translations
- Zhay, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The Middle East isn't a race.
- ryan27406, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0lets just face it, if it does hit, mothernature will prove again thats she Owns us
- generalleoff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I wish
- McEvoy322, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"1. We can still see them coming, so one not just going to come out of the blue and hit us when we weren't looking."
Sometime back in the '80s (I'm not sure since I was maybe 3 or 4, or younger) the closest asteroid to come near us to that date and it was even known until the next day!
Now sure, we'd see it coming, if you're standing right beneath it! - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Let's hope it wipes out the middle east if it hits. When the civilized world recovers, we'll all be better off."
lol, racism
/you're retarded - theone3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Heh. Okay, it's made up, but OTOH, at least the end of life wont be our fault ;).
- Chris_F, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0That was directed towards Gnascher, and it should be "one is not" and "knew".
For the zillionth time digg needs a edit button. - aahamedi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0you all for get our best asteroid defense system a man by the name of chuck norris
- Chris_F, on 10/12/2007, -0/+01. We can still see them coming, so one not just going to come out of the blue and hit us when we weren't looking.
2. If all of mand kind, and life as we new it was depending on it, you think we would just stand around with our thumb up our butts? - Ratteler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I want to know as soon as possible so I can enjoy the rest of my days living out my Mad Max fantasies. Running around killing, raping, plundering and launching LAW rockets at any NASA projects to save the chosen of few of who I know I will be excluded.
I was given a pretty ***** life, and if I know it's over for everyone some sunovabitches are going to pay. - jr0515, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Glad its fake. I was slighty nervous there for a second.
- supremechees, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0wtf guys! you spoiled the movie for me. thanks alot. ;(((((
- gnalakalaciath5, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Ha ha April Fool's!
Too bad it's not aprill... or fool's... - cyclotron, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The sky is falling!
- brandonr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0More than likely bogus, but I thought I'd post it any way so you all can make up your own minds. The link is to google translation.
- MikeKnoop, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"You do know that an atomic/nuclear/hydrogen bomb does NOT have a theoretical limit right? If worse comes to worse we could vaporize it, if in fact this is even real."
Ok just to tell all of you guys that want to nuke it...
Now instead of one giant asteroid hitting the earth, you'll be bombarded like a meteor shower with tiny asteroids... that are RADIOACTIVE! yes!
-Mike - MixedSpleens, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I did better with the original German. I kinda figure that there might be an English one if this was real, not that us Americans get any sort of news stories... still No Digg.
- davepk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0http://www.hohmanntransfer.com/crt.htm#2004mn4
The name of this asteroid is 99942 Apophis (2004 MN4)
This is no April Fools joke. However, The german article is obviosly using outdated reports from outdated data as a source. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"lol, asteroid"
lol, brb, Armageddon - sessou, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0haha, err.....did anyone else notice the date posted (4-1-05) happens to coincide with a day that tends to be full of practical jokes?
- weesee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"wake up dead?"
THIS IS THE COMING OF THE ZOMBIES!!!! I FREAKEN KNEW IT! WOOOOT!
*Runs off mumbling something about a bat and a shotgun.* - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Cue Aussie Bloke.
- kitsonk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Notice if you search for Alh2804-c you will only find German news articles with similiar text... Those German's and their April Fool's Jokes!
- saifatlast, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Clearly only the Germans know about this asteroid. Which is weird, since it was discovered in Tucson, Arizona. I think I still panic though *races to the grocery store and buys their whole stock.*
- opnotic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Woo Hoo... no time to read the comments. I imagine they are all saying the same thing anyway. SEE YOU LATER.. MUST MAX CREDIT CARDS!!!!!
- jjtechno, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0April fools joke. Not a single reported observation in the The Minor Planets Center ephemeris for the 18 December 2004
Guess we will be sure after august? - stoops, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Actually atomic weapony (which would be a type 1 nuclear weapon, Plutonium/Uranium Fission device) does have a limit, and the Russian's did a lot of experimenting with nuclear weapons just to see what that limit would be."
Dude I watched a whole hour show (discovery) on this sort of thing happening. I know vaporizing it doesn't work in all cases for all astroids but a scientist did come out saying that nuclear weapons don't have a theoretical limit. Russia stopped creating them because the one they created sent a shockwave around the earth 3 times. - scrapstyle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Not if Earth gets hit by an asteroid but when.
- Darkness123, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Why are we all worried if and when something like this were to happen, God will make it disappear.
While we just sit and watch.
lol - psients, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"Asteroid killing only Earth's idiots on collision course with Earth"
Only in my dreams. - sdcdiggs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0FIRE THE NUKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"The Middle East isn't a race."
lol, ethnocentrism
/you're retarded too - woodyuk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0large newsnet post about this > http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.astronomy/browse_frm/thread/875343a13886f6d2/951f27076f1f1439?tvc=1&q=Asteroid+ALH2804&hl=en#951f27076f1f1439
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