Not really a likely scenario but still, interesting. http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/09/02/asteroid.reut/index.html Giant asteroid could hit Earth in 2014 LONDON, England (Reuters) -- A giant asteroid is heading for Earth and could hit in 2014, U.S. astronomers have warned British space monitors. But for those fearing Armageddon, don't be alarmed -- the chances of a catastrophic collision are just one in 909,000. Asteroid "2003 QQ47" will be closely monitored over the next two months. Its potential strike date is March 21, 2014, but astronomers say that any risk of impact is likely to decrease as further data is gathered. On impact, it could have the effect of 20 million Hiroshima atomic bombs, a spokesman for the British government's Near Earth Object Information Centre told BBC radio. The Centre issued the warning about the asteroid after the giant rock was first observed in New Mexico by the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research Program. "The Near Earth Object will be observable from Earth for the next two months and astronomers will continue to track it over this period," said Dr Alan Fitzsimmons, one of the expert team advising the Centre. Asteroids such as 2003 QQ47 are chunks of rock left over from the formation of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago. Most are kept at a safe distance from the Earth in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. But the gravitational influence of giant planets such as Jupiter can nudge asteroids out of these safe orbits and send them plunging towards Earth.
Maybe he ought to divert money from the Star Wars missile "protection" scheme and come up with a way to blow asteroids into tiny little bits!
You guys have all the fun you want, but there isn't a damn thing we can do about it if it were to turn out to be a "certain strike". Nothing. (well, those who care to could pray to the deity of their choice)
Let not your hearts be troubled if Armageddon - as in the movie - is any indication, Bruce will find a way.
Hey man, we could always send up a team of oil drillers who have no experience in space to drill a real deep hole with amazing drills on the surface of the asteroid itself. That sounds like a plot a guy on crack would come up with for a movie....hey wait a minute...
What a dilemma! If we don't act now and the asteroid strikes, there will be no one to cast historical blame. If we do act and the asteroid doesn't strike, trillions of dollars will go down the drain. And, if we do act now, the asteroid may still destroy mankind so the trillions don't matter. Or, if we don't act and the asteroid doesn't strike, we go on happily with our global feuding. Himmm. Regardless of the truth, what if the astronomers declared the hit was a certainty? Can you imagine the populations of the world united in an effort to build a spaceship capable of reaching the rock in time? Can you imagine all the new jobs for both cerebral and physical labor designing some type of strategy for deflecting / destroying the asteroid or lifting enough sperm/ova and caretakers into space to await a time for re-populating Earth? Can you imagine everybody putting their political hatreds on hold? Wow .... ten years of peace and a common goal. I feel like the dreamer in the John Lennon (or is it McCartney) song. But, can you imagine....?
I agree completely. Just to be prudent, lets pack Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thorton in a rocket right away and blast them into space...
