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U.S. not prepared for possible asteroid strike

latimes.com — On the 100th anniversary of the devastating Tunguska event in Siberia, scientists and an Orange County congressman urge the government to take further defensive measures against near-Earth objects. A group of scientists draw attention to their belief that the United States is not doing enough to defend the planet against the dangers.

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  • mrdrunkNstoned, on 07/05/2008, -9/+1www.chjaa.org/Papers_Accepted/2008_Supplement/P48_500_Fargion_399-411.pdf
  • dsoleil, on 07/05/2008, -13/+1John McCain has a plan. He wants to build a death star. Watch out near-earth objects!

    http://www.freeasspress.com/2008/07/mccain-unveils ...

    Guess it's time to build the rebel alliance...
  • MtheoryX, on 07/05/2008, -6/+72Well, we're not prepared for Armageddon either, or hundreds of other "end game" scenarios...

    "draw attention to their belief that the United States is not doing enough to defend the planet against the dangers posed by near-Earth objects."

    Oh, I see. We're supposed to save the ***** planet. This all sounds very familiar.
    • vpshockwave, on 07/06/2008, -0/+16We should think ahead and have the oil drillers trained by next year.
    • Naieve, on 07/06/2008, -3/+20Let Europe and Russia pay for it.

      We already pay enough into the UN.

      Your turn to ante up.
    • nebben, on 07/06/2008, -3/+29America, ***** YEAH!
      Coming again, to save the mother ***** day yeah!
    • KaiUno, on 07/06/2008, -11/+7Why would they. They're working hard enough to destroy it themselves, why waste money trying to save it?
      • desertDenizen, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4The U.S. certainly has embarked on some short-sighted, fool hearty, self-destructive trajectories in recent years. Not sure why you're being dugg down. Dugg. I think there's more to you answer than clever irony. You identify a pervasive hubris.
    • moonasha, on 07/06/2008, -6/+2obviously, oil and the economy are more important than the existence of the earth!


      ... oh wait
    • Jhiaxuz, on 07/06/2008, -0/+7Not if this is relevanmt to the post but I am actually at bar which has internet access.

      The problem with asteroids is that we don't know the power they have until it happens. Look at Shoemaker- Levy ateroid which hit Jupiter. They happedned on Jupiter, but the fact that the affects created were above the size of the Earth should be a sign that we are not the center point to the universe.

      If we get hit by an asteroid 1km in diameter, than we are *****. Maybe not globally, but the size of the universe let alone our solar system can permit for objects tht size or more with fair ease with a little "luck" and even bigger. Ceres is a good example and that's just within our solar system.

      Either way, the only time we care is when it's a problem. Any other time it's just a cut to NASA funds which really affects our lengevity as a species.

      People are afraid of our own actions. I am more afraid by the actions of the violent nature of our universe but the ignorance we have towards these facts.

      Yeah, i', drunk but only because it's before rush hour at the bar.
    • letherial, on 07/06/2008, -0/+0we need to defeat the terrorist asteroids, there out to destroy our way of life
  • PaxRomana, on 07/05/2008, -1/+31Wow and to think Michael Bay warned us all those years ago...I don't even want to think about the current state of our giant robot protection plan.
    • rz8472, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3The solution is clear - hire a bunch of hick oil riggers just like they did in the movie.
    • zeptobyte, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2Simple plan - submit.
  • BaseballGuyCAA, on 07/05/2008, -1/+42This sounds more like something you'd read in The Onion.
    • GorfTron, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2Anymore, I use the onion for my actual news.
  • reeftool, on 07/05/2008, -1/+9And just not enough of what should the US be doing? Lets spend a few billion tax dollars. Hire the same guys that build levees on the Mississippi for asteroid defense. I will sleep much better.
    • OriginalReplica, on 07/06/2008, -1/+4Actually we are cutting the budget to the Arecibo radio telescope, which is the best piece of equipment we have for spotting incoming asteroids.
    • Archer007, on 07/06/2008, -1/+7The Army Corps of Engineers built the New Orleans levees ABOVE specification. The trouble was that the levees were not not rated for the level of water they had to hold. Plus, if we had to assign an organization to protect against NEOs, it would be NASA or the Air Force. Get your facts straight.
  • ScurM, on 07/05/2008, -2/+9With all the stuff that is going on in the US at the moment, i think that an asteroid strike is the last thing on their mind.
    • danomagnum, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1You say that as if an asteroid strike is something anyone should ever worry about.
  • chenley1, on 07/06/2008, -5/+1Well, I have been stoking up on canned foods. Does this count?
  • gavin422, on 07/06/2008, -5/+20It's because all our money is tied up in wars that are (slowly) accomplishing what an asteroid strike would manage in a few minutes.
    • Serial0Hacker, on 07/06/2008, -1/+1If only it would strike the middle east.
    • cbdgr, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3But see their is a secret plan. Oil and large suvs is key to it. If theirs gonna be a asteroid strike, the media will tell everyone its going to be on east coast. Then everyone will drive like crazy to the west coast, in turn altering the rotation of the earth and causing the planet to move slightly off course and avoid the asteroid strike.
  • gldfshnpcklejar, on 07/06/2008, -0/+5I have been stockpiling water... dinosaur comics anyone?
  • T3hJ3hu, on 07/06/2008, -3/+9Am I the only one who saw this article's title and laughed hysterically?
    • FrankDrebbin, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3I thought it was from The Onion at first.
  • PUNJABISINGH, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4well that's just great
  • briansearles, on 07/06/2008, -1/+23What about the threat of aliens? Was I the only person who saw Independence Day and went home a political activist?
  • spikes, on 07/06/2008, -3/+7The way they handled Katrina, NO.
    • xwfilm, on 07/06/2008, -0/+6George Bush doesn't care about asteroids.
    • superkendall, on 07/06/2008, -2/+5What about the way "They" handled Iowa? Because that's on the same level, and that's been going pretty well.
      • Carter313, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3Yeah, digg him down for telling the truth. As an Iowan I can say that we have handled the flooding well, even better than the response to the flooding of 1993. Our cities will be back to normal shortly, which is much more than I can say for New Orleans.
      • akamurph, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Flooding doesn't like black people.
  • userperson, on 07/06/2008, -3/+10What about SARS? Birdflu? Comets? Aliens? Reptoids? Y2K?
    • tmyprod, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4Raptors?
      • userperson, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1I always forget those thanks. We need to lobby the government for raptor prevention too.
    • Archer007, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4Y3K?
      • desertDenizen, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1No, that's still covered by 3 digits. Our descendants will be ***** in Y10K.
      • userperson, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2Sooner ... 2038 problem for 32-bit systems.
        http://is.gd/MBt
        The government needs trillions to fix it now though, otherwise the earth will implode.
    • Psi57, on 07/06/2008, -0/+6Reptoids are a serious threat.
      • userperson, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Reptoids are perhaps the scariest,
        so little is known by the public at large, some don't even know what a reptoid is!!! ,
        and they keep ignoring this threat! educate yourselves!
        http://is.gd/MBI
    • armakaryk, on 07/06/2008, -0/+0i'm more worried about lectroids from planet 10.
  • theboyqueen, on 07/06/2008, -2/+17Dana Rorhbacher (R) from Orange County, what a shocker. The kids in Compton are dodging bullets and here we've got country club nutjobs worried about being hit by flying objects from outer space.
    • opticwind, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2Humanity should have the chance to kill itself. An asteroid is like cheating.
      • dynelol, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1It'll be hilarious if we miraculously prevent an asteroid destroying the planet and then we end up nuking one another.
  • hiscity, on 07/06/2008, -1/+10Go check out the murder and domestic violence stats. Your family is much more likely to kill you.

    And in some cases deservedly so.
    • desertDenizen, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1But your family is less likely to wipe out the human race.

      Expected value = (benefit - cost) x probability of the scenario occurring x probability of the solution working.

      A clear course of action follows from that, but that requires that people do math, so nevermind.
  • neo926, on 07/06/2008, -1/+26We've got Bruce Willis, what more do they expect us to do?
  • LemonDefragger, on 07/06/2008, -4/+1Seriously. You're on the internet. Learn something.
  • Naieve, on 07/06/2008, -2/+1Don't worry. NASA has plans to land a spacecraft on any rogue asteroids.

    Solar winds will be caught by the Mylar sails.
  • britblogger, on 07/06/2008, -4/+2the US had two years of Bush lobbying for Congress, and then worming his way through the Government to make President.

    do you honestly think you can stop a piece of cosmic rock traveling (probably) at ten times faster than the speed of sound on a direct course for planet earth?

    ***** story.


    • opticwind, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1That's right folks. If there's no solution, there's no problem.
    • desertDenizen, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1It's not a direct course. It would be an orbital trajectory that might not impact for 40+ years, meaning you'd only need to deflect the object's course by a degree or so, which is within the realm of realism from a cost & engineering standpoint. The trick is to identify objects early enough. If you don't spot it until it's 6 months away, you're *****. It's all about detection. Call it a budget for "orbital intel on meteoric terror units" and Congress will pay for it without even reading the bill.
  • judicar, on 07/06/2008, -1/+3Article is a bit low-tech and inaccurate; the Tunguska event was caused by something much smaller than an asteroid, likely a comet or meteor. An asteroid hit would have vaporized half the continent, whatever hit Tunguska was the size of a bus as opposed to an asteroid which would be the size of an oil tanker.
  • alldigit, on 07/06/2008, -1/+4I'm sure America or any self-respecting country would haul ass the moment they learn an asteroid is coming their way threatening to destroy our precious human race.
    • cheezintern, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3I'd rather haul ass to lollapalooza
  • AbsurdParadox, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4BREAKING: The sky is falling!
  • fatfonzie, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2I'm gonna pour some cereal.
    • Serial0Hacker, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Just don't use Apple juice on it, like I did last Sunday night.
      • fatfonzie, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1That's crazy! You should of tried orange juice on them Wheaties! Its Great!!
  • bdfariello, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Okay, let's pull out of Iraq and spend the hundreds of billions of dollars we'd save there on something ELSE that makes no sense for a change. Education? The economy? ***** 'em.

    Or we could just call up Bruce Willis... What's he up to these days? Haven't heard from him since Die Hard 4.
  • cheezintern, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4Oh No! I doubt the US is prepared for a sudden and unexpected collapse of the universe either.
  • DigitAl56K, on 07/06/2008, -0/+7Space terr'rists!
  • mchinsky, on 07/06/2008, -2/+7I love it. The whole world, and most diggers hate the US for taking charge of any worldwide problem, but when it costs money and the enemy isn't terrorists, sure, US, you go fix this.
    • KMartSheriff, on 07/06/2008, -1/+7I know, seriously. The U.S. isn't prepared for a "possible" asteroid strike?

      Oh, and like the rest of the world is? The world hates on America, but at the same time expects them to save everyone from asteroids?
      • atchon, on 07/06/2008, -1/+1These are americans asking to develop a better plan. So it really is americans expecting americans to save them from asteroids.

        The U.S. is prepared for a "possible" nuclear strike, "possible" outbreaks of disease, and other "possible" disasters. Why not be prepared for a disaster which could do far more damage than any of the other possibilities.

  • GorfTron, on 07/06/2008, -0/+9We need a war on asteroids.
    • MelvinSchlubman, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2First: appoint an Asteroid Czar
  • kh99, on 07/06/2008, -0/+4Someone should figure out a way to make this into a major campaign issue, just for the fun of it.
  • tatinthehat, on 07/06/2008, -0/+5The question is: is any country ready for an asteroid strike??
  • mikesly, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1I have a really BIG drill if you need to rent it. As for the driver I can only think of one... and his last name starts with A
  • JasonCox, on 07/06/2008, -0/+19I ask of you, what country *IS* prepared for an asteroid strike? Hell, we cant even get proper funding for the Space Shuttle, you think they're going to fund an Joint Earth Defense Initiative?

    (edit: Ok, wow, I like that name. I just noticed that the acronym would be 'JEDI')
    • geobay, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1I'd actually donate some money for that....but only if I could be a Jedi.
  • reiggin, on 07/06/2008, -2/+2Blame Canada!
  • neocr0n, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2Haha there is no being prepared for a possible asteroid strike, you could given the right amount of time in theory at least change its trajectory, but still I think the responsibility lies with the international community not just the US. Regardless of what country it might hit. The sky is too big to know about all asteroids and one could sneak up on us. We just have to ride out our luck for the time being until we have more powerful observation tools at our finger tips and thats not going to happen any time soon if we keep blowing billions on pointless wars and handing the smartest minds in the world just a fraction to work with.
    • psevium, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1I think we'll have the technology soon to be able to destroy them or deflect them, and even sooner if it becomes apparent we need it to not get blasted away. The sky isn't "too big to know about all asteroids" though, we'll easily know about ones closer to us (within Mars/Jupiter) I'd bet
  • restlessdesign, on 07/06/2008, -1/+2Osama bin Asteroid!
  • lukas88, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2Defense measures should include a device that makes the world spin a little bit faster so that Kim Jong-il's house is the site of impact.
  • Elderon, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Oh Oh, I KNOW I KNOW... lets use our missle defense shield with nuclear tipped warheads to shoot down the asteroid. Yeah that's it. we'll shoot down the asteroid. we'd never attack another country.
  • Rapter09, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2At this point an asteroid strike would be a good thing. It just needs to hit Washington.
    But spare the innocent Washingtonites; our asteroid comes only for your politicians.
    • Daxx22, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Theres actually human's in Washington?!
    • MWeather, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1There are o innocent Washintonites. No innocent person could elect Marion Barry twice.
  • Gregbertt, on 07/06/2008, -0/+7We could just make it illegal for an asteroid to strike. Problem solved.
    • NecroSexy, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1Asteroids are terrorists, thus, asteroid belt = ellipsis of evil. They're trying to take away our freedom!
    • psevium, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1The RIAA should definitely sue them for not being allowed to copy itself onto our planet at extreme speed
  • superkendall, on 07/06/2008, -3/+1If we try to put anything up in defense it will be decried as a military system or a waste of money. Too bad for us.
  • topgigmedia, on 07/06/2008, -0/+3News Flash: The US isn't prepared to do a lot of things. Take a look around. Enough said.
  • Virgule, on 07/06/2008, -1/+3"U.S. not prepared for possible asteroid strike" should read as "Mankind not prepared for possible asteroid strike".

    --Headline repair service

    • rushiku, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2Wait, there's people outside the US?
      • Artimusbill, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2Yeah, remember? US, and Them. That's it.
  • CaptainM4d, on 07/06/2008, -0/+1The government should have invested more time and money in Missile Command!
  • 9bpm9, on 07/06/2008, -1/+5Uhhh, what about the other 200+ countries on this planet?
    • MWeather, on 07/06/2008, -1/+4They're expendable. Especially Liechtenstein.
    • salinemist, on 07/06/2008, -1/+1They know where to look when the ***** hits the fan.
    • atchon, on 07/06/2008, -0/+0You mean all the other countries which have never even launched one of their own citizens into space? Three countries have launched their own manned spacecraft. I dare say if an asteroid were to hit the world it would probably fall to one of these countries to do something.


  • DeFex, on 07/06/2008, -1/+5Just call the asteroids "terrorist space rocks" then they will pay attention.
  • Serial0Hacker, on 07/06/2008, -1/+1If it does happen, Hopefully someone can film it, and put it on Youtube.
  • MWeather, on 07/06/2008, -0/+2The US isn't prepared for a hurricane,and we see several of those a year. Why would we be prepared for something that hasn't happened in 100 years?
    • atchon, on 07/06/2008, -0/+0The U.S. is prepared for hurricanes there are evacuation plans, detection protocols, and tracking. So the idea is to be as "unprepared" for a asteroid strike as a hurricane.

      Because something that happened a hundred years ago will happen again. It will also cause far more damage than a hurricane. Do you want to stop preparing for other things which haven't happened recently? like a form of plague?
  • PabloIV, on 07/06/2008, -1/+1I didn't read the article, but I read the main picture's caption

    As a pro-science Puerto Rican I'm fairly up to date on the little scientific ***** that happens here.

    The Radio Telescope in Arecibo isn't going anywhere. The latest financial analysis put the dismanteling and shutting down of the project at a higher price tag than running it for a good long while. Nevertheless since initial news of the possible budget retirement came out several years ago there's been a moderately successful rally for alternate funding options.

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