Last week, we asked
you to tell us about the risks from asteroids
crashing into the Earth. Here's what you
said...
35 listeners were concerned
about asteroids - 36 were not. Here are some
excerpts from your mail...
Alex Bozzi, IV
If it misses, then no problem.
If it hits....then no problem.
JMY
They've hit us before, they'll hit us again.
Nasty things they are.
patterson
Yes, we are concerned since no one can say with
100% certainty that it will not occur. Hopefully,
it will not be in the next 2000 years!
Ace Armstrong
We do, of course, have to be worried about
asteroid or cometary impacts. It's almost
impossible to track everything headed to Earth from
every angle, and we all know that celestial impacts
occur. Examples include the comet (Levy-Shoemaker,
right?) that crashed into Jupiter, the various
craters we have been able to find on our own
planet, and the quite obvious craters found on
other planets. You have to play the odds, and
realize that eventually we *will* be hit by
*something* large. Maybe not today . . .but, then
again, maybe today after all. WE have no way of
knowing.
Dennis Murray
Most people are relieved that 1997XF11 will miss
the Earth, I wish it had been headed our way.
Asteroids have hit us before and will continue to
do so. As asteroids go, this one was nearly ideal.
It is too big to ignore so we would have been
forced to act; but still small enough to be dealt
with effectively. ... Also, it was just possible
that the people of Earth would finally start
putting aside some of their more petty pursuits,
such as war, ecological destructruction, and racial
and ethnic hatreds.
Gail Dahlquist
I am more interested in the idea of an asteroid
striking Earth than I am concerned. Asteroids have
always been striking planets and moons. Though the
probablility of a devastating strike to Earth in
the very near future is low now, time is not on our
side.
Patrick Brassil
No - Not about this particular asteroid, anyway.
Especially with the terrific opportunity that
this would present to us- If we could capture it as
it went by, and work it into an orbit around the
earth, we'd have a completely natural
space-station, one that we could work on by simply
drilling into the rock! It would be a monumental
step in our plans for colonizing the stars, if only
our leaders were level-headed enough to recognize
it as the opportunity it clearly is.
Leigh Keller
I am more concerned about the overall state of
humanity and the impending dangers of mankinds
impact on the earth than an asteroid.
Douglas Strausbaugh
I work in the healthcare industry in home
health. Catching mrsa, antibiotic resistant TB, or
one of those other infectious diseases that you
talked about on 3-13 is much more real to me. Also
dealing with bad traffic while travelling from one
person's home to the next is a much more immediate
concern. Theses are things I can affect with my
behavior. An asteroid will smack the earth whether
I worry about it or not.
