Photo Credit – JPL NASA
# 6194
For those into global catastrophes and impending doom, admittedly, it’s been a pretty good weekend.
The internet is abuzz with stories and rumors that an asteroid (DA 14) will strike the earth in mid-February of 2013, and unlike most of the 2012 doomsday nonsense that proliferates on the internet, this asteroid actually exists.
The furor over this story really took hold when RT News, a Russian media outlet known for embracing `highly imaginative’ news stories – published the following report, complete with an illustration of a flaming asteroid entering the earth’s atmosphere.
Blast it or paint it: Asteroid to threaten Earth in 2013 Published: 03 March, 2012, 22:32
Yes, DA 14 exists.
And twice a year it passes relatively close to the earth. Next February it will come within about 17,000 miles of our planet, which in cosmic terms, is a pretty close shave.
But the odds that it will strike the earth next year – while perhaps not exactly zero - are being greatly overblown.
Since I’m not an astronomer, I’ll refer you to someone who actually knows more than a little about the subject, Phil Plait, the creator of Discover Magazine’s Bad Astronomy blog .
No, asteroid 2012 DA14 will not hit us next year
March 4th, 2012 11:30
For the tl;dr crowd, let’s get this out of the way right away: asteroid 2012 DA14 is almost certainly not going to hit the Earth next February. And by "almost certainly", I mean it: the odds of an impact are so low they are essentially zero. This does not rule out an impact at some future date, but for now we’re safe.
Disappointing news, I know, for doomsdayers and underground bunker salesmen alike.
Of course, I’d never try to dissuade anyone from preparing for a disaster, as there are still plenty of legitimate reasons to be ready; hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, blizzards, earthquakes . . . even pandemics.
If you are prepared for these far-more-likely scenarios, should DA 14 defy the very long odds next year and hit the earth, you’ll find yourself in pretty good stead.
You can click on the PREPAREDNESS link in my sidebar to dozens of my essays on the subject, but a few recent ones I’d call your attention to include:
NPM11: Disaster Buddies
The Gift Of Preparedness
An Appropriate Level Of Preparedness
NPM11: The Ethics Of Preparation
The Opposite Of Worry
And for more on how to prepare as an individual, family, business owner, or community I would invite you to visit the following sites:
FEMA http://www.fema.gov/index.shtm
READY.GOV http://www.ready.gov/
AMERICAN RED CROSS http://www.redcross.org/
Because it doesn’t require an inbound asteroid to put a serious crimp in your whole day.
