Jun 27 2006
Close Call With Asteroid
These are the kinds of close encounter we all would prefer to avoid, nuzzling up with our an asteroid:
An asteroid possibly as large as a half-mile or more in diameter is rapidly approaching the Earth. There is no need for concern, for no collision is in the offing, but the space rock will make an exceptionally close approach to our planet early on Monday, July 3, passing just beyond the Moon’s average distance from Earth.
Too close for my tastes.
This is simple. With the success of NEAR-Shoemaker, the problems have largely been solved. The only requirement is to get sufficient lead time.
All the US needs to do once they get the lead time is to replace the scientific instruments with a “physics package” from Strategic Command’s inventory. Land the modified NEAR-Shoemaker probe on the asteroid, activate the “physics package”, and the problem asteroid will go away.
Yeh this is too close. And this is a big sucker.. Note it was first seen only a year and a half ago. Chance of a strike are small, but the effects would be large. Thank goodness the tracking network is starting to spot these guys.