ralph.ewig

Killer Asteroid from Outer Space - Wired has published an interview with famous space-advocate Neil deGrasse Tyson on the topic of how to survive a killer asteroid threat. If you do the math, it’s just as likely for you to be killed in a plane crash as it is to die from the impact of an asteroid - a sobering thought.

On Friday the 13th, April 2029, it [Apophis] will dip below the altitude of our communication satellites. If its trajectory on that day passes within a narrow range of altitudes called the “keyhole,” then […] the asteroid will hit Earth directly, likely slamming into the Pacific Ocean. The tsunami it creates will devastate all the coastlines of the Pacific Rim. […] If humans one day become extinct from a catastrophic collision, we would be the laughing stock of aliens in the galaxy.

It’s not a question of “if”, but a question of “when”. Unfortunately, saving the planet requires foresight and long-term commitment, both of which seem in short supply in today’s planetary leadership.