Reading the MSNBC link I was struck (sorry) by how much unnecessary fear-mongering the article is laced with. Perhaps I've been sensitised ala Michael Moore, but:
- the article starts out by citing "A minor rumor has hatched on the Internet that a large and deadly asteroid will strike Earth this fall", thereby setting the scene for FUD. One would thus assume that the point of the article is to cause fear rather that objectively state facts.
Ok, they immediately follow it with "Astronomers know of no such pending doom" but the adrenalin has already started flowing.
It goes on to say, "While not dangerous for now, asteroid Toutatis is incredibly strange." (my emphasis). [Dramatic chord (A minor 9th)] So we're led to believe that there's a bit of uncertainty about this big rock. True, but let's put it in perspective for heaven's (sorry) sake.
It goes on: "That's close by cosmic standards for an object that could cause global devastation." and "No other asteroid so large is known to have come so close in the past, though accurate tracking of space rocks is a fairly recent, high-tech skill that still leaves wide margins of error for many objects."
At least here they try to downplay it, but then that darned Aminor9th chord gets played and we're back in the adrenalin-ridden FUD again.
"Other asteroids in the size range of Toutatis have surely navigated that window, too, but were unseen in eras when the skies were not scanned so fully as today." - yes, keep it flowing!
One wonders if the objective of reporting in the US is to perpetuate consumerism, religious fervor, or just plain insularity.
Slashdot Mirror
- the article starts out by citing "A minor rumor has hatched on the Internet that a large and deadly asteroid will strike Earth this fall", thereby setting the scene for FUD. One would thus assume that the point of the article is to cause fear rather that objectively state facts. Ok, they immediately follow it with "Astronomers know of no such pending doom" but the adrenalin has already started flowing.
It goes on to say, "While not dangerous for now, asteroid Toutatis is incredibly strange." (my emphasis). [Dramatic chord (A minor 9th)] So we're led to believe that there's a bit of uncertainty about this big rock. True, but let's put it in perspective for heaven's (sorry) sake.
It goes on: "That's close by cosmic standards for an object that could cause global devastation." and "No other asteroid so large is known to have come so close in the past, though accurate tracking of space rocks is a fairly recent, high-tech skill that still leaves wide margins of error for many objects."
At least here they try to downplay it, but then that darned Aminor9th chord gets played and we're back in the adrenalin-ridden FUD again.
"Other asteroids in the size range of Toutatis have surely navigated that window, too, but were unseen in eras when the skies were not scanned so fully as today." - yes, keep it flowing!
One wonders if the objective of reporting in the US is to perpetuate consumerism, religious fervor, or just plain insularity.