Asteroids Flyby — 2010 RF12 & 2010 RX30

Ernesto Guido writes "Two small asteroids (2010 RF12 & 2010 RX30) will pass within the Moon's distance of Earth today, September 08, 2010." One is 6-14 meters and the other is 10-20, so even if they change course, don't expect Bruce Willis to be called in.

Comments

Ob

[Hognoxious]

Is there any chance it will hi&^8@
&/.'[#
no carrier

Comet my ass...

[Cornwallis]

If you look at this picture from the site you'll see the trail isn't straight.

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w189/walcom77/2010_RF12_120sec.jpg

This is a UFO. Finally, proof.

Re:Bruce Willis

[Goboxer]

SPOILER: Turns out he's a ghost. The earth is destroyed.

Not so small ...

[tgd]

A 20 meter asteroid is not all that small ... if it actually hit the earth, it could potentially make a few million people have a really bad day.

Re:Not so small ...

[courteaudotbiz]

It all depends on the composition of the asteroid. If it is more dense (like iron), it may make a lot of damage or create a small tsunami, since it wont disintegrate or explode before impact. If it is less dense (ice/rock), it should partly disintegrate or explode high in the atmosphere.

Yes, there would be damage, like the Tunguska event in which estimates give it "a few tens of meters across", but the uninhabited area of the world is a lot larger than the inhabited area, so most chances are there would be few casualties, except if it explodes directly over a large city.

We should still sling Bruce at it

[grasshoppa]

Just to be sure something like "Live Free, Die Hard" doesn't happen again.

In fact, I'm a big fan of slinging stars after asteroids. We could do it in the same style as throwing a perfectly good virgin in to a volcano, but with less loss of anything worthwhile.

Re:Bruce Willis

[IndustrialComplex]

The Fifth Element is infinitely better than Armageddon. I've seen Armageddon once, and I'll never get that hours back. If Jerry Bruckheimer or Michael Bay are anywhere near a given movie I don't bother.

Number one rule for any science fiction or fantasy story: Stick to the rules you define in your universe. Tell a story in that framework.

It's essentially like following a DnD rulebook. We don't need to know how magic works in THAT universe by trying to explain it with the rules from OUR universe. Attempting to do so either removes the magic (bad) or doesn't make sense (handwaving).

Star Wars worked when you didn't try to explain light sabers, the force, or much of their technology. The prequels and other mistakes fell into the trap of trying to explain it to us in terms of our own universe's rules:

Miticlorians
Kessel Run
etc.

Write a story, stick a dragon in it. Call it magic.

Don't try to explain that the dragon eats a certain type of rock, and instead of burping stores the hydrogen gas inside of airbladders that make it buoyant in air. The problem isn't that you are wrong (it's your universe) but when you define yourself by OUR physical rules, it means that the characters in YOUR universe now have to conform to that set of rules.

So why would that be a problem?

We are VERY good at understanding our own universe's rules instinctively. Once defined as following our rules, we will wonder why your characters didn't just.... or why they haven't invented... and why did he try that when...