The Sky is Falling! No, Really.

 

 

            Over the past few years, NASA has been tracking multiple asteroids that will be in the direct vicinity of earth in the near future. Scientists at NASA have concluded that one asteroid, 2012 DA14, will make a “record-close pass by Earth on February 15th.” This asteroid will come close enough to be considered a Near-Earth object, that is, close enough to be affected by our gravitational field. Of course, asteroids of similar size to the 45 meter asteroid, 2010 DA14, have hit Earth in previous years. Because I knew this prior to reading the article, the title regarding asteroids near Earth once again began to worry me. Just as any geek would’ve, I was both excited and worried about some possible eminent cataclysm.

            In the favor of humanity and Earth, NASA scientists continued to inform on the frequency and impossibility of an impact. Don Yeomans stated that “An object the size of 2012 DA14 appears to hit Earth about once every 1,200 years,” and again, an impact is impossible. If it were to hit, which it won’t, it would impact with the energy of “2.4 megatons of TNT.” Even though something like this did happen in Russia in 1908, which leveled 820 square miles of trees, I am relieved that nothing like that will happen on the 15^th. I just have one question, what if 2010 DA14 did hit, say, America; How would we respond, would it be another Katrina? Or would it weaken our government to the point that any of our enemies could step in and take over? This is why large catastrophic events like this can have more of an economical effect that just knocking over a few hundred trees.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/07/us/asteroid-approach-earth/index.html?hpt=hp_bn8

Publisher: CNN

Title: “So, about that asteroid near Earth ...”

Author: Elizabeth Landau