[meteorite-list] Astronomers Gear Up for Historic Asteroid Pass in 2029 (...

[MexicoDoug at aol.com]

Eric O. wrote
:
>"Hey no problem it is years away, long after I am retired."   When 
>the next impactor is discovered 6 months or 9 months or 1 year 
> out there will be little time for anything except the finger  pointing.

>"You don't have to change the course of the comet very much  to
>miss the keyhole if you do it a number of years in advance," 
>said Clark Chapman,

>And the converse of that is that you  don't have to change the 
>course much to get an impact either, a bank shot off another 
>small asteroid might do or a close approach to a larger one.
 
Hola Eric,
 
Don't you see, this is the very reason we need an impact of a body of this  
size.  Selectively it will take out the bureaucratic tendencies out of our  
species, focus the survivors on science, give surviving scientists a wonderful  
dignity-redeeming real research project, and finally hush all of the  
contradicting voices in the paleontological and tektite worlds about what  happens.  
Well, maybe some things never change.  Just remember,  intelligent monkies are 
directly attributed by science gracias to the Yucatan  impact 65.X million 
years ago, if not we might just be a bunch of lazy  Quetzalcoatlus' gazing on 
computer screens the size of big  screen TVs...typing away on our beakboards.  Is 
NASA ready to remove  nature's next Monkey wrench so obsolete Hominids can 
survive?
 
Re, your comment on the Converse, I got mine laced-up in preparation for  the 
big event (and I expect there will be a hell of a party), since, with all  
the cataloged objects, should we doubt that at least those have been run  
effectively (besides Juno, Ceres, Vesta, Pallas) according to the possibility  you 
suggest? (shrugging the shoulders)  It would be interesting to know  what 
assumptions were made regarding our own Moon's contributions to its orbit  for the 
followup visits...
 
Saludos, Doug