Baby Boomers and others have a great deal to worry about these days–the Social Security crisis, underfunded pension plans, rising health care costs which threaten to leave many uninsured, and 401(k) accounts which have plummeted in value. . . And now there could be an additional worry–asteroids hitting the earth. According to this article from the Boston Globe–“Asteroid scare exposes flaws in early warning system“:
It could have been a scene from a B-grade doomsday movie: Some of the nation’s most respected astronomers weighed a call to top NASA authorities — and ultimately the White House — to say a large asteroid was streaking toward Earth and could hit within days.
And this from the National Geographic in an article entitled “Asteroid False Alarm Shows Limits of Alert Systems“:
Smaller asteroids can appear without notice and could potentially hit Earth in hours or even minutes. An asteroid that is 100 feet (30 meters) across—the original estimate of the 2004 AS1—would probably explode in the atmosphere with the force of a one-megaton bomb, setting off hurricane winds. . . NASA’s Johnson admits there is no concerted effort at the moment to find smaller asteroids.
You can read more about it here from the NASA folks: “Recently Discovered Near-Earth Asteroid Makes Record-breaking Approach to Earth.”
Also, this article from the New York Times: “When to Post ‘Watch for Falling Asteroid’ Sign.”
You can actually view the asteroid that “narrowly” missed the earth here.
I guess it is comforting to know that great minds have been meeting to discuss the issue. Read about what was said at the “Planetary Defense Conference (Protecting the Earth from Asteroids)” here.