Slashdot Mirror
Introducing Asteroid 2004 MN4
Numerous readers wrote in with bits about a potential asteroid collision: "The recently discovered asteroid 2004 MN4 is currently listed as having a 1/233 chance of hitting the Earth. It is 420 m across and if it strikes the Earth it will release an energy of 1,900 Megatons of TNT (the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated, Tsar Bomba had a yield of only 50 Megatons). It is also the only asteroid that currently has a Torino scale value of 2." So, in summary, there's a 1-in-233 chance of the worst disaster in recorded history happening on April 13, 2029, and a 232-in-233 chance of nothing happening. Have a nice day! Update: 12/24 22:14 GMT by M : The rock is now rated a 4 on the Torino scale, or a 1-in-62 chance of impact.
Not to alarm people further, but April 13, 2029 is also a Friday the 13th!
Chew: You Nexus, huh? I design your eyes.
Roy: Chew, if only you could see what I've seen with your eyes.
The Machines will have to worry about it.
Well its close enough time to start looting!
Hopefully Bruce Willis will still be around...
Are you sure this isn't Rama?
...maybe if we all lean to the left...
FLR
To put these odds in terms us slashdotters will understand, the odds that this asteroid will hit earth are better than the odds of rolling a '20' with a twenty-sided die 2 times in a row.
Chew: You Nexus, huh? I design your eyes.
Roy: Chew, if only you could see what I've seen with your eyes.
We have to wait 24 years ... damn I'll be 54 !!
Any moment now, Michael will be receiving a request/subpoena from Apple legal, asking him to divulge the identities of the "numerous readers" that leaked this highly confidential information about "Asteroid".
It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
Clearly we need to start now to develop deep habitable mines to ensure the survival of our way of life. We must carefully select a few hundred thousand of those who should be protected at all costs.
A special committee would have to be appointed to study and recommend the criteria to be employed, but off-hand, I should say that in addition to the factors of youth, health, sexual fertility, intelligence, and a cross-section of necessary skills, it would be absolutely vital that our top government and military men be included, to impart the required principles of leadership and tradition.
Naturally, they would breed prodigiously. There would be much time and little to do. With the proper breeding techniques, and starting with a ratio of, say, ten women to each man, I should estimate the progeny of the original group of 200,000 would emerge a hundred years later as well over a hundred million. Naturally the group would have to continually engage in enlarging the original living space.
what a relief at least we wont have to go thru the year of "the end of unix time".
If you look at the animation, it shows the one possible earth hit position, but to me, it looks like 2 or 3 of those very near earth positions have the potential to hit the moon (then factor a gravitational swing around the earth...)
Pool anybody? Off the moon, bank off North America, left ocean!
"This is not a problem for anyone and it shouldn't be a concern to anyone, but whenever we post one of these things and ... somebody gets ahold of it, it just gets crazy" ...From the CNN version
Along with the obligatory Simpsons quote..
Kent Brockman: Professor, without knowing precisely what the danger is, would you say it's time for our viewers to crack each other's heads open and feast on the goo inside?
Professor: Yes I would, Kent.
Online Starcraft RPG? At
Dietary fiber is like asynchronous IO-- Non-blocking!
Just think of how many times slashdot can repeat this story in the next two decades!
This
Gigli was almost enough to destroy the U.S. by itself. An asteroid should be no problem.
"No, no, no. Don't tug on that. You never know what it might be attached to."
That gives all of us Slashdot readers about 25 years to lose our virginity, it might be tight...
This is one of those witty signatures that you'll remember.
I don't really think there's too much point in getting concerned just yet.
In other words, you can expect the UN to start work on a treaty and the United States to refuse to sign it.
I don't know about anybody else but I've missed the impending doom and sense of anticipation since we've missed all our other dates at an apocalypse. The various dooms from the Millenium were very entertaining. Now I have another date to circle on the calendar. Yeah.
Enjoy your Karma, after all you earned it. Feel your Karma Joe, feel it burn.
So, in summary, there's a 1-in-233 chance of the worst disaster in recorded history happening on April 13, 2029, and a 232-in-233 chance of nothing happening. Have a nice day!
I'll be on the moon, gesturing, "Missed it by *that* much...."
Mod Karma -1: I sed bad wurds. If I cep my mouf shut, I wud be at riyses.
Bush has a missle defense system that will save us.
You need to take one more step.
2 + 0 + 2 + 9 = 13
1 + 3 = 4
See? No big deal.:)
Laws are for people with no friends.
and be grateful that they and everyone else they know is still alive.
Some of my best friends are zombies, you insensitive clod!
Well, on the other hand IF us "go it alone" it will likely to be a complete fuckup (read some history).
You plan to have Ben Affleck and J-Lo make another movie has been found out be the Galactic council of goodness.
If such plan is continued with, you will be destroyed as an example to other civilizations.
That is all.
qngduor3kfgh
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on