We’ve obsessed for two years over Covid. One would think planet earth could not survive because of this one virus. We also scare young people to death, programming them to the theme of climate change with its doomsday predictions. However, often, our perceptions of what may happen do not eventuate. Many predictions about Covid and climate change have been way off the mark.
However, what worries me and many scientists are the genuine possibility of earth being struck by an asteroid. In fact, Asteroid 2017 XC62 is due to come in very close proximity to the planet in the next several hours. We probably don’t have to worry––this time. NASA estimates it will miss us by 7 million kilometres. That’s actually a near-miss in astronomical terms.
We know that asteroids have struck in the past. Most notable is the one that hit Siberia in 2008, known as the Tunguska event. It flattened trees for hundreds of miles and is estimated to have packed a wallop equivalent to almost 200 Hiroshima atomic bombs.
XC62 is roughly the same size, equivalent to the Washington Monument in the U.S. capital, which would do tremendous damage if it hit us.
Instead of worrying about climate change, let’s focus more of our attention on foreign bodies such as asteroids striking the earth. They literally can be an existential threat to humanity.
I have long hoped that someone would make a film about the Tunguska event. Given the popularity of disaster films over the years, it would seem like a natural.
At least if there was near threat of being hit by an asteroid the panic would make sense.
But we would still see (probably the same suspects) working out how they could profit from it and manipulating things in an attempt to guarantee their own survival