NASA and the US governmental chiefs are apparently pouring billions of bucks into establishing an eventual base on the Moon as a stepping stone for an eventual journey to Mars. Photo / Nasa
NASA and the US governmental chiefs are apparently pouring billions of bucks into establishing an eventual base on the Moon as a stepping stone for an eventual journey to Mars. Photo / Nasa
COMMENT Everyone likes a surprise...if the surprise is a jolly pleasant one of course.
Which the surprise this dear old planet was very, very close to getting late last month was not.
Although that doesn't really matter now because the time has passed and rather oddly, it was hardly even mentionedacross the media landscape.
Had the surprise occurred then it would most certainly have been mentioned, although tragically if this surprise had turned up in a populated venue then a lot of people would not have been talking about it.
Didn't even make the evening news...not that I saw.
Although there was a flood of pictures of Boris Johnson searching for his comb and images of Donald Trump meeting someone with pursed lips.
But hardly a whisper about what many of the astronomy and cosmos experts described as a "city killer" asteroid which scorched by earth on July 25 at a speed of around 8km a second.
I guess it didn't get a mention because it missed.
But not by much, for it passed between us and the moon at only 80,000km...and in galactic terms that is very, very close.
It bore the tag of Asteroid 2019OK and it sort of knew its way here, for it was spotted during its last great orbital pass on February 1, 2017.
But on that occasion it was about 40 million km away so no worries.
It was no worries this time either because, despite there being more galaxy-watching hardware floating about up there this thing stayed off the radar so to speak...until it was just two days away.
Roger Moroney is an award-winning journalist for Hawke's Bay Today and observer of the slightly off-centre.
Just two days.
The science boffins had not been able to spot it, as it was coming in from the sun and that kind of creates a big old blind spot by all accounts.
What got me though were the comments made by one astronomy and physics expert upon learning of the meteorite's path.
"Impressively close," he said.
I would be slightly more realistic than that and describe it as "terrifyingly close."
For had it impacted upon a city that impact would have been the equivalent of an explosion about 30 times greater than the atomic blast which shattered Hiroshima.
Had it splashed into an ocean the tsunamis would have been huge.
But hey, it didn't hit us so what's the problem?
Problem is, it came as a surprise and hardly drew a mention.
The other problem is, Nasa and the US governmental chiefs are apparently pouring billions of bucks into establishing an eventual base on the moon as a stepping stone for an eventual journey to Mars.
What is it about Mars anyway?
It is bland and inhospitable.
Surely the great stack of space-budget cash should go toward setting up some device which can sit up there and alert the world that something is coming in from the direction of the sun when it is a lot more than just two days away.
And another space device stacked full of explosive stuff which could then be sent off to intercept the thing.
But hey, that's not as glamorous as a base on the moon or a walk on Mars.
On this "spot them" note, it's clear they do have some long-range spotting ability, for I came across a list of 10 asteroids which "may" strike Earth.
The first in line is set for 2022 and had been logged as being 16m wide, so it ain't a biggie...and they put the chances of a strike at one in 4464.
But there is one tagged 2010RF1Z and it has a one in 16 chance of hitting us.
Which is unsettling...although the slightly comforting part is that it isn't due to call by until 2095.
The one list they do not possess though is one for rogue asteroids.
Ones which can pop up out of nowhere (or the direction of the sun) and give us an unexpected surprise.
Maybe that's what's driving the "let's pop across to Mars" programme.
That may be seen as our bolt-hole if an asteroidal giant is found to have booked a visit here.
