Meteorite Blasts Russia [Live Update]

I want some of those rocks.

This meteor could have been much, much bigger, and we still would have had no warning before it hit. We know only about 30% of these dangerous near earth asteroids. We need to get serious about asteroid hunting or we are going to become extinct in a flash.

2012 DA14 was discovered by an amateur astronomer. NASA claims they don't have the "resources" to track asteroids.
How bizzare.

Once corporations can mine asteroids for valuable minerals and other raw materials, Nothing will go untracked!
So if averting disaster is profitable, it'll get done.

If it were a direct impact Russia would be missing a city right about now, thousands would be dead many thousands injured, and the rest of the world would be a bit closer to putting aside their petty differences, and realizing human advancement so far counts for nothing until we extend our colony to other worlds.
But then there are many many more of these rocks heading toward earth, so we could just as easily loose a couple cities tomorrow.

@Teotwawki

2012 DA14 wasn't discovered by a hobbyist in his back yard. It was discovered by the La Sagra Sky Survey, which is a team of amateurs using sophisticated equipment.

http://www.lasagraskysurvey.org/instrumental_in.html

NASA did not say they don't have resources to track asteroids. They said they don't have the resources to meet their congressional mandate. NASA was tasked with tracking "at least 90 percent of potentially hazardous NEOs larger than roughly 460 feet (140 meters) in diameter by the end of the year 2020".

It is difficult to find asteroids while looking into the sun. This makes finding asteroids that orbit closer to the sun difficult for earth based detectors. To get anywhere near the 90 percent mandate, NASA needs a space based observatory that orbits the sun, not the Earth. This costs big money.

sshhhh... everything will be ok democedes,
"Soft kitty, Warm kitty, Little ball of fur. Happy kitty, Sleepy kitty, Purr Purr..." :)

This one was only two (2) meters in diameter!! The Congressional mandate is to track only those over 140 meters in diameter (very, very few of them are that big), and NASA doesn't even have the funding to get THAT done.

Chelyabinsk produces nuclear weapons? Its like that meteor had our name on it. The news keeps getting worse and worse.
Biggest since Tunguska? Gees we are lucky!

So scientifically and in reality, there was no defense to this current event. Hello reality check!

Now what happens if a really big asteroid is coming our way, perhaps we have a chance if it is big enough to see and small enough to deflect.

What happens if several small bus size asteroids come our way, maybe several hundred asteroids? Will they be too small to see and to many to deal with to stop?

And finally, if a really gigantic asteroid is coming our way, then there is nothing to do, but die.

@sumer, I can sing to you too if you'd like :)

What if there was a special tax that went toward things like extinction level events?
Then all those who chose to pay that tax would be saved and everyone who thinks they have more important concerns would be allowed to take their (rather poor)chances at continued survival.

@lvriesling

Of the over 9,000 NEOs NASA is tracking, 3,700 have a diameter more than 300m. 850 have a diameter greater than 1,000m. I would say that is more than a few.

http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/stats/

Did USA\NASA or Russia or any other scientific world establishment know about his incoming asteroid in advance and was this news withheld from the public?

I am curious!

Sumer it depends on what you mean by advance.
If they knew 30 mins in advance there would be no point in telling anyone.
As for knowing way in advance, I don't think that is possible with current technology. And thats the problem.

Since the beginning of time have you hard of anyone that been hit by a meteor? (If so, he probably had it coming haha.)
Of all the things to ring our hands about in life, I would think this would be on the lowest rung. Guaranteed, you & I will die of something else, & we probably won't even see it coming. But if your still worried, there is always church. :)

@ Fotobum, I have seen a house and a car hit by meteorites. That's pretty close callings.

"...Since the beginning of time have you hard of anyone that been hit by a meteor?..."

Really, since the beginning of time and you expect an answer?

Yea sure, I am 3 billion and 2 million and 1 years old. I saw my friend hit by one of those things. Dang, it was a mess! LoL.

@FotoBum

First, I sleep like a baby. No worries here. I would just like mankind to continue on a bit after I am dead and buried.

Secondly, you speak as if we are helpless to stop a large meteor strike. The US has the resources and the technology to catalog and track NEOs at 100% if we so choose. This would give us decades to deflect an asteroid. With that much advance warning, only a little nudge would be required to alter the asteroids course enough to miss Earth entirely.

It seems silly to me for people to wring their hands about anything else. What is a school shooting next to a mass extinction? Why not spend our efforts on preventing the mass extinction and then worry about global warming and education.

"Since the beginning of time have you hard of anyone that been hit by a meteor?"

Yes, the dinosaurs. They aren't here anymore because meteors were on their lowest rung.

haha! yes, good answers!

Why do these things always seem to happen in Russia?

Computer User, Howsabout the impact craters in Arizona, the gulf of Mexico and mainland Mexico?

until I saw the bank draft which said $8121, I be certain that my sister woz like truley taking home money in their spare time on their apple laptop.. there neighbor had bean doing this 4 only about thirteen months and by now took care of the morgage on their villa and bourt Lotus Esprit. this is where I went, ●❤● ℬuzz80.ℂOℳ ●❤●