You Think A Tsunami Is Bad? Think Asteroid!!!

[Apoptosis]

I've been trying to follow Asteroid 2004 MN4 the past few days. If you don't know let me fill you in on the news real quick...

There's a 1-in-300 chance that a recently discovered asteroid, believed to be about 1,300 feet long, could hit Earth in 2029, a NASA scientist said Thursday

Better odds than winning the lottery or getting hit by a drunk driver!

There have been only a limited number of sightings of Asteroid 2004 MN4, which has been given an initial rating of 2 on the 10-point Torino Impact Hazard Scale used by astronomers to predict asteroid or comet impacts, said Donald Yeomans, manager of the Near Earth Object Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

No previously observed asteroid has been graded higher than 1.

On Friday, April 13, 2029, "we can't yet rule out an Earth impact," Yeomans said. "But the impact probability, as we call it, is 300-to-1 against an impact."

The asteroid was discovered in June and rediscovered this month.

As you all know I have a Biology major so I find stuff like this interesting!

If you want to read more here are some stories on it:

CNN: Scientists study orbit of newly found asteroid

[Apoptosis]

I'm amazed by how many space objects NASA is tracking!
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/

UPDATE:

Looks like the scare is over...

After issuing an unprecedented "yellow alert" for a potential cosmic collision, astronomers said further observations showed that a recently discovered asteroid had no chance of hitting Earth in the year 2029.

But look what they were saying!

At one point, astronomers said the uncertainty factor about 2004 MN4 allowed for a 1-in-40 chance of a collision on Friday, April 13, 2029. That led them to give the asteroid a rating of 4 on the 1-to-10 Torino scale that is used to gauge the threats posed by near-Earth asteroids and comets. Until 2004 MN4, no object had been graded higher than 1.

MSNBC: Astronomers rule out asteroid risk in 2029



More Interesting Asteroid 2004 MN4 Links:

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risk/2004mn4.html
http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/read ... tNum=79455
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/12/24/1518210
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004- ... 382794.htm

[LVCapo]

Dude, I think all the partying and travelling must have finally caught up with Nate......first a cheesy MC Donald's ad, now the doom and gloom.
I actually think if people knew what was in McD's food, they'd rather take their chances with an asteroid! I heard that it, along with Cockroaches would be the only survivors in a nuclear blast.

[infinitevalence]

As we say in obscure quote land...

"shred the nar"

[T-Shirt]

Yup, the harder they look, the more likely they will see it coming.
we've survived all these years, ignorant of the fact we could be wiped out in an instant.
Now we may get years of warning (or not) and still can't do a thing about it.

[grunt]

Yup, the harder they look, the more likely they will see it coming.
we've survived all these years, ignorant of the fact we could be wiped out in an instant.
Now we may get years of warning (or not) and still can't do a thing about it.

knowing that they can only afford to search and track for such a small percentage of space... Were doomed, everyone just send me all your money via paypal and I will make sure it goes to a good place

[LVCapo]

Geez people "Happy Holidays".............

[A10Pilot3]

Did anyone notice that it was supposed to hit Earth on Friday the 13th?

[Apoptosis]

haha... good catch! I totally missed that one.

[T-Shirt]

That's the first thing I saw here (made me think Hoax right away)
another source had it as the 29th (not that a few days either way make much difference 24 years from now)
who know what kind of man-made or natural disaster will have happened by then