:sigh: first 'apocalypse' of 2013 closing in.

[trekkiedane]

Yep, science and space geeks will know that the asteroid 2012 DA14 is coming -- and that it's on a very close trajectory...

Do you think it might contain alien biologicals that will mix with our atmosphere and make us into zombies?

I mean: I find the silence of the apocalypse-crowd a bit unnerving, shouldn't they be all...

or building underground shelters by now?



Kidding aside -Looking forward to some amazing imagery from this close pass.

 

[sojourner]

Didn't you hear? the zombie apocalypse started yesterday in Greatfalls, Montana.

 

[trekkiedane]

Nope, but just now I read a headline saying...

Montana's zombie hoax likely linked to similar false alert in Michigan.

Whoever wrote that is apparently expecting a zombie alert that isn't a hoax

 

[MacLeod]

Now Now, it's the period 2026-2069 we have to worry about as there is 0.033% chance it'll strike the Earth. Should we start stock piling stuff now?

 

[RJDiogenes]

I was distracted by my own mini-Apocalypse over the weekend, but I am looking forward to the near miss. The pictures should be fascinating. I'm hoping for more of a Wild Cards-type outcome, though, rather than a Zombie Apocalypse.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

since today is 02/13/2013 we really should get an apocalypse. The date fits so nicely!

Ok, in lack of any other prophecies I herewith declare that today the apocalypse starts...





.... for any chocolate cookies that get into a 2 ft ( = armlength) distance of me!

and for adorable cupcakes like this one:

 

[Sector 7]

The Zombie Apocalypse has already been happening. In the US Congress, Republicans are walking around doing nothing. Personally, I think they are zombies.

 

[sojourner]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ueBZuZAoglE[/yt]

 

[Leith Jones]

Kidding aside -Looking forward to some amazing imagery from this close pass.

Unfortunately, it would seem that unless you are in Asia or Australia with a good pair of binoculars and you know exactly where to look, you won't see it in person. We'll have to settle for video. Bummer, eh?

 

[Gary7]

I was distracted by my own mini-Apocalypse over the weekend, but I am looking forward to the near miss. The pictures should be fascinating. I'm hoping for more of a Wild Cards-type outcome, though, rather than a Zombie Apocalypse.

Well I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to it being a near hit!

 

[RJDiogenes]

Well, that wouldn't be very exciting.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

no chance here either. Neither for seeing anything nor for getting a near hit. It was cloudless at sunrise but now the fog is so dense that any any object slower than warp 5 would instantly get stuck. That's sooooo typical! Always when something interesting happens in the sky it's either rainy or foggy.

 

[Robert Comsol]

UPDATE !!!

B.U.F.F. 2012 DA14
has caused over 400 injuries in the Ural region of Russia: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/15/hundreds-injured-meteorite-russian-city-chelyabinsk



WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS "PICTURE" ?!?!

Have our astronomers and astrophysicists been deaf and blind?
Have they been incapable of predicting a possible impact area?
Have they told the corresponding governments to take precautions against the possible impact?
Have our governments been withholding vital information from us?
DO THEY THINK WE ARE ALL STUPID AND START A MASS PANIC?!?

Now the Russian hospitals in this region (!) have over 400 injuries on their hand and all that could have been avoided, had somebody told their citizens to take the day off, stay inside their homes and keep away from the windows.

After the mess has happened, the parents of school kids are being told to pick up their kids from school - Where these shouldn't have gone this morning in the first place!

Apparently they all hoped the blast would occur over uninhabitated areas like in Tunguska. I have many, many questions and definitely want to see some of these answered!

Bob

 

[BillJ]

UPDATE !!!

B.U.F.F. 2012 DA14
has caused over 400 injuries in the Ural region of Russia: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/15/hundreds-injured-meteorite-russian-city-chelyabinsk



WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS "PICTURE" ?!?!

Have our astronomers and astrophysicists been deaf and blind?
Have they been incapable of predicting a possible impact area?
Have they told the corresponding governments to take precautions against the possible impact?
Have our governments been withholding vital information from us?
DO THEY THINK WE ARE ALL STUPID AND START A MASS PANIC?!?

Now the Russian hospitals in this region (!) have over 400 injuries on their hand and all that could have been avoided, had somebody told their citizens to take the day off, stay inside their homes and keep away from the windows.

After the mess has happened, the parents of school kids are being told to pick up their kids from school - Where these shouldn't have gone this morning in the first place!

Apparently they all hoped the blast would occur over uninhabitated areas like in Tunguska. I have many, many questions and definitely want to see some of these answered!

Bob

Huh?

Morning news said it had nothing to do with the one passing us later on today. Or did I just misread your post?

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Yep, coincidental but probably unrelated given the reported trajectory.

 

[Robert Comsol]

Morning news said it had nothing to do with the one passing us later on today. Or did I just misread your post?

That's what the news are saying and the scientists interviewed claim it's a collossal coincidence of astronomic proportions (I really have to make a video with footage of Bob Gunton playing Captain Benjamin Maxwell and then add his dialogue from "The Shawshank Redemption": "Lord, it's a miracle!").

Now, if meteroid blasts in our atmosphere like the one from today would be a common thing we'd hear about several times a year, I'd agree there is no connection.

However, given the close pass of Asteroid 2012 DA 14 tonight, I find myself unable not to see a connection which our current science is unable to explain.

Worse, the stupid movie "Armageddon" from 1998 claimed that the asteroid would be pushing meteroid debris ahead of it. I'm not aware whether Bruckheimer consulted with specialists prior to making this movie, but if he did, I'd like to hear what these specialists did say.

Bob

 

[B.J.]

Massive coincidence. This one was a few meters in diameter, weighing about 10 tons, and it's likely that it wasn't even being tracked. It's *very difficult* to track these things, let alone find them in the first place.

You do know that tons (seen figures of 100 tons and up to 10000 tons) of material fall to Earth every day, right? Most of that burns up harmlessly. And strikes like these happen on average every 5 years. So go ahead and take off the tin-foil hat, this isn't a conspiracy to keep things from us.

 

[BillJ]

Massive coincidence. This one was a few meters in diameter, weighing about 10 tons, and it's likely that it wasn't even being tracked. It's *very difficult* to track these things, let alone find them in the first place.

You do know that tons (seen figures of 100 tons and up to 10000 tons) of material fall to Earth every day, right? Most of that burns up harmlessly. And strikes like these happen on average every 5 years. So go ahead and take off the tin-foil hat, this isn't a conspiracy to keep things from us.

But conspiracies are fun!

 

[TheGodBen]

However, given the close pass of Asteroid 2012 DA 14 tonight, I find myself unable not to see a connection which our current science is unable to explain.

2012 DA14 is approaching Earth from the south while the meteor that hit Russia today approached from the direction of the sun and hit the northern hemisphere. Adding to that, they're over 12 hours apart, which is tens of thousands of kilometres in astronomical terms. The two objects were on considerably different orbits.

EDIT: Here's a graph that demonstrates the difference in their approaches.

Worse, the stupid movie "Armageddon" from 1998 claimed that the asteroid would be pushing meteroid debris ahead of it.

When the tsunami hit Japan in 2011 and brought unprecedented destruction, did you worry that the neutrinos had mutated?

 

[rhubarbodendron]

thanks. It coming from the direction of the sun would explain why it wasn't detected earlier (plus everyone focussing on the close big one, of course).

Had a similar meteorite hit the US only 6 years ago, GWB would have declared the sun part of the axis of evil and have it blown up by a drone squad.


No chance of seeing the asteroid transit from my place tonight We have a fog so thick that any object going slower than warp 5 would get stuck in it.