In Perspective, Planet: Monday March 2cd 2009 Just 1/5 way to moon, Asteroid Scraped Past Earth!

Maybe you thought it's bad that Franke & Heidecke GmbH has filed bankruptcy and Ritz Camera together with the sublings Wolf camera are swirling down the toilet with Circuit city and your savings have lost 40% and your bathroom scale has been under-measuring your burgeoning body mass. So you dread getting updates on the market now below 7,000 points?

Let's put things in perspective!

What news channels reported probably the most serious life threatening event on the planet in almost 100 years?!

It was discovered just some 40-48 hours previously by a team in Australia this last Saturday. No special reports! No interviews with space scientists or reassuring speech by the president!

On Fox news, they just announced the near hit after the story on an albino Dolphin which is, of course pink and has red eyes. We are now listening to delicous grilled cheese and Carl Juniors, Mathis Bros is offering Bernhardt Furniture at just $2,695 and there's an advert for trips to Israel, "No one belongs here more than you". Then while we wait for the news of that rock, we hear about the All new Lexus and then Mathis furniture again. Back to important news on Gay Rights message of the Milk movie promoted by Sean Penn and now the plan to stop "cussin", with a kid, McKay has got a special declaration from the mayor. Profanity is being removed from walls in Venice Beach. That's reassuring. Still its now ABC's anchor Brian Williams and car sales are down 50%! President Obama's standing still above 60%. No report yet on the threat we just escaped from! It's 6:33 pm and more "news" pushes off reality discussion on the miracle of our own survival!


From BBC News:


Space rock makes close approach




There are much bigger asteroids out there, like Itokawa (pictured) An asteroid which may be as big as a ten-storey building has passed close by the Earth, astronomers say. The object, known as 2009 DD45, thought to be 21-47m (68-152ft) across, raced by our planet at 1344 GMT on Monday.

The gap was just 72,000 km (44,750 miles); a fifth of the distance between our planet and the Moon. It is in the same size range as a rock which exploded over Siberia in 1908 with the force of 1,000 atomic bombs. The object was first reported on Saturday by the Siding Spring Survey, a near-Earth object search programme in Australia.

It was confirmed by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Centre (MPC), which catalogues Solar System objects.
The closest recent flyby listed by the MPC is 2004 FU162, a small asteroid about 6m (20ft) across which came within about 6,500km (4,000 miles) of our planet in March 2004.

Read the entire story here!

So let's get things in perspective. Yes, we are in severe financial trouble. Sure religions divide us as if we were different species! Sure we don't have the best diet or the most considerate neighbors.

But look around at the blue sky, birds, green leaves, a mother and child walkingby, the mailman delivering letters, a meter maid writing a ticket. So you have a hole in your socks! Guess what, we made it! That mother of rocks went by us. Hardly any reports on the news. I never heard it mentioned once? Did any of you?

One fraction of a degree of different trajectory and we might not be here to buy any cameras or tacos or to think of whether or not my pictures or your pictures merit being called "art"!

Why?

Anyway, I just thought I'd mention this to put things in perspective. We have a lot to be thankful for. Celebrate by being nice to folk and take more fun pictures just for the beauty and drama of mother nature that does not kill us!

Asher

The news media have, as usual, portrayed this far more dramatically than reality warranted. There is a veritable hail of crap, some quite large, that blows past us quite regularly.

Harvard University maintains a list of "potentially hazardous asteroids". They also maintain a list of potentially close approaches to Earth through 2178.

For more current events, Space Weather, my favorite otherworldly go-to site, maintains a front page table of current near-Earth asteroid encounters (gleaned from the long, technical lists above) measured in "lunar distances".

So if anyone's especially bored and needs something new to worry about, bon appetite!

Ken Tanaka said:

The news media have, as usual, portrayed this far more dramatically than reality warranted. There is a veritable hail of crap, some quite large, that blows past us quite regularly.

Click to expand...

I didn't see any reports so far in the regular news. Maybe I watch the wrong TV channels.

Ken Tanaka said:

Harvard University maintains a list of "potentially hazardous asteroids". They also maintain a list of potentially close approaches to Earth through 2178.

Click to expand...

Did they know this thing was coming our way? From my reading it was a surprise and that is ridiculous if true!

Ken,

According to NASA this object was first reported 2009_02_27 and last reported 2009_03__03, so that list at Harvard seems pretty damn inadequate. It passed 45,000 miles from the planet! That is only twice the height of most satellites!

Asher

This bugger was, indeed, only spotted a week ago...hardly enough time to launch Robert Duvall and his crew. I've read that this rock would have packed approximately the same wallop as the Tunguska imapct.

The Harvard list, despite its continuous growth, is indeed "inadequate". As are the others. But our planetary priorities lie elsewhere.

Ken Tanaka said:

This bugger was, indeed, only spotted a week ago...hardly enough time to launch Robert Duvall and his crew. I've read that this rock would have packed approximately the same wallop as the Tunguska imapct.

The Harvard list, despite its continuous growth, is indeed "inadequate". As are the others. But our planetary priorities lie elsewhere.

Click to expand...

Ken,

I was surprised that ABC when they finally got round to this, they merely allowed 20 seconds, saying the earth had a near catastrophe! There's no discussion, no "talking heads", no inquiry, on our ineptitude!

BTW, on another front, two nuclear powered and nuclear armed submarines, from France and the U.K. respectively, crashed last week. Both vessels suffered significant damage.



""HMS Vanguard returned safely to Faslane under her own power on 14 February."

A senior Navy source told The Sun the potential consequences of such a collision were "unthinkable". He said: "It's very unlikely there would have been a nuclear explosion. But a radioactive leak was a possibility. "Worse, we could have lost the crew and warheads. That would have been a national disaster." About 250 sailors were believed to have been on the submarines. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) initially refused to confirm the incident, saying it was against policy to comment on submarine operations.

However, a spokesman insisted nuclear security had not been breached. He said: "We can confirm that the UK's deterrent capability has remained unaffected at all times and there has been no compromise to nuclear safety." Inquiries are under way on both sides of the Channel. HMS Vanguard is one of four nuclear submarines operated by the British navy as part of its Trident system - and one is always on deterrent patrol. Each vessel is 150 metres long and 13 metres in diameter. They can carry 16 missiles (BBC reported 48!), weighing 35 tons each, which in turn carry six warheads with a range of about 5,000 miles."

What's hilarious and amazingly stupid is the doubly delusional statement by the U.K. Defense Spokesman, "We can confirm that the UK's deterrent capability has remained unaffected at all times and there has been no compromise to nuclear safety." That guy needs whole brain radiation and an orchiectomy from the neck downwards! How can they be so arrogant talking as if they are in some Peter Sellers movie, except, they are not and neither are we!


I must admit that the French vessel is far sexier than the British nuclear sub! The French do know how to make a good show. Still, that sleek French Sub is now without its nose cone with all it's sonar, (which is sad as without it they have no bloody idea where they are going). The Brits limped off with some very expensive scrapes and dings. This not something that Sears Roebuck Automotive repair can fix. Doubtless the damage must run into the billions of US $! I wonder whether AIG insures them and if so the U.S. Taxpayer, (actually, our children and grandchildren) will end up paying for the damage!

"Lee Willett, head of the maritime studies program at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a defence and security think-tank, said the incident was a complete one-off.

"These are the strategic crown jewels of a nation. The whole purpose of a sea-based nuclear deterrent is to hide somewhere far out of sight and out of mind," he told AFP. "Given that there are a very, very small number of SSBNs (Ship Submersible Ballistic Nuclear) in the world, the chances of two SSBNs being in the same bit of water at the same time is unprecedented. "The fact that they couldn't hear each other is actually less surprising."

Saunders explained: "The modus-operandi of most submarines, particularly ballistic-missile submarines, is to operate stealthily and to proceed undetected. "This means operating passively (i.e. not transmitting on sonar) and making as little noise as possible. "While in parallel much effort has gone into improving the capability of sonars to detect other submarines, detection was clearly made too late or not at all in this case." Willett added: "Submarines don't go around advertising their position by pinging away with their sonar. It's very hard to hear stuff under water because of all the ambient noise. "SSBNs listen passively using their sensing equipment but if you're listening for something that's making no noise, you can't hear it."

The RUSI expert said despite the close NATO and European Union ties between Britain and France, the two countries would be very reticent to share information on what their nuclear submarines were up to. "Despite how close these relations are, they are the ultimate tools of national survival in the event of war. Therefore it's the very last thing you would share with anybody." However, he added: "This may raise the question of agreeing on waterspace management issues: you go there, we go there. Those agreements may exist already. "Both nations have now lost a big part of their SSBN capability for a period of time."Source.

BTW, did this near disaster ever make it to your TV News? I have not seen it myself as of yet!

If the Western societies and their governments

• can't even notice a ten story piece of rock hurtling at the planet,
• can't drive their own nuclear submarines safely in the open ocean, hey we're not talking about driving in Paris or Manhatten, for gawdsake!
• cant recognize the inherent delusion in our religious dogmata,
• can't safely get baby food, vitamins or toothpaste from China
• can't manage our economies,
• can't protect our natural resources

what on earth do we have to offer to the fanatics who we want to persuade to not hate us?

We had better get our $#!! together!

Just trying to get things in perspective!

Asher

I am a believer in the ground zero club. If the big one is coming, I want to be exactly where it hits. This goes for bombs as well as meteors. So you are right. I resent not being told about this rock coming so close. I would at least expect a little time to prepare and wring my hands while waiting on my ride. We really are but a speck of dust on a speck of dust. We take what we do and what we are much too seriously. I think what we should do is send Bruce Willis and his crew (much better than that Duvall disaster) and have them rendezvous with an asteroid and alter its path so that it hits us dead center rather than miss us altogether. How would that be for an alternate ending? It is going to happen someday so why not now so we can experience it?

Today I am not looking for work. Today I don't really care to. Tomorrow I am sure I will be back on track and thinking like a logical "human" but today I am not there. Instead, I am going to the Houston livestock show to look at all of the cowboys, cowgirls, and cow patties. This is Houston afterall. Who knows. I may catch a glimpse of W and his family.

OK please forgive my stupid initial response this morning. Obviously I was not feeling well and not thinking clearly. Now I feel much better having seen some beautiful animals.
James

Asher Kelman said:

Ken,

I was surprised that ABC when they finally got round to this, they merely allowed 20 seconds, saying the earth had a near catastrophe! There's no discussion, no "talking heads", no inquiry, on our ineptitude!

BTW, on another front, two nuclear powered and nuclear armed submarines, from France and the U.K. respectively, crashed last week. Both vessels suffered significant damage.

Photo: skynews Royal Navy Trident Submarine up to 48 Nuclear Warheads on board!
​

""HMS Vanguard returned safely to Faslane under her own power on 14 February."

A senior Navy source told The Sun the potential consequences of such a collision were "unthinkable". He said: "It's very unlikely there would have been a nuclear explosion. But a radioactive leak was a possibility. "Worse, we could have lost the crew and warheads. That would have been a national disaster." About 250 sailors were believed to have been on the submarines. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) initially refused to confirm the incident, saying it was against policy to comment on submarine operations.

However, a spokesman insisted nuclear security had not been breached. He said: "We can confirm that the UK's deterrent capability has remained unaffected at all times and there has been no compromise to nuclear safety." Inquiries are under way on both sides of the Channel. HMS Vanguard is one of four nuclear submarines operated by the British navy as part of its Trident system - and one is always on deterrent patrol. Each vessel is 150 metres long and 13 metres in diameter. They can carry 16 missiles (BBC reported 48!), weighing 35 tons each, which in turn carry six warheads with a range of about 5,000 miles."

What's hilarious and amazingly stupid is the doubly delusional statement by the U.K. Defense Spokesman, "We can confirm that the UK's deterrent capability has remained unaffected at all times and there has been no compromise to nuclear safety." That guy needs whole brain radiation and an orchiectomy from the neck downwards! How can they be so arrogant talking as if they are in some Peter Sellers movie, except, they are not and neither are we!

Photo AP France's Le Triomphant submarine at sea.​

I must admit that the French vessel is far sexier than the British nuclear sub! The French do know how to make a good show. Still, that sleek French Sub is now without its nose cone with all it's sonar, (which is sad as without it they have no bloody idea where they are going). The Brits limped off with some very expensive scrapes and dings. This not something that Sears Roebuck Automotive repair can fix. Doubtless the damage must run into the billions of US $! I wonder whether AIG insures them and if so the U.S. Taxpayer, (actually, our children and grandchildren) will end up paying for the damage!

"Lee Willett, head of the maritime studies program at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a defence and security think-tank, said the incident was a complete one-off.

"These are the strategic crown jewels of a nation. The whole purpose of a sea-based nuclear deterrent is to hide somewhere far out of sight and out of mind," he told AFP. "Given that there are a very, very small number of SSBNs (Ship Submersible Ballistic Nuclear) in the world, the chances of two SSBNs being in the same bit of water at the same time is unprecedented. "The fact that they couldn't hear each other is actually less surprising."

Saunders explained: "The modus-operandi of most submarines, particularly ballistic-missile submarines, is to operate stealthily and to proceed undetected. "This means operating passively (i.e. not transmitting on sonar) and making as little noise as possible. "While in parallel much effort has gone into improving the capability of sonars to detect other submarines, detection was clearly made too late or not at all in this case." Willett added: "Submarines don't go around advertising their position by pinging away with their sonar. It's very hard to hear stuff under water because of all the ambient noise. "SSBNs listen passively using their sensing equipment but if you're listening for something that's making no noise, you can't hear it."

The RUSI expert said despite the close NATO and European Union ties between Britain and France, the two countries would be very reticent to share information on what their nuclear submarines were up to. "Despite how close these relations are, they are the ultimate tools of national survival in the event of war. Therefore it's the very last thing you would share with anybody." However, he added: "This may raise the question of agreeing on waterspace management issues: you go there, we go there. Those agreements may exist already. "Both nations have now lost a big part of their SSBN capability for a period of time."Source.

BTW, did this near disaster ever make it to your TV News? I have not seen it myself as of yet!

If the Western societies and their governments

• can't even notice a ten story piece of rock hurtling at the planet,
• can't drive their own nuclear submarines safely in the open ocean, hey we're not talking about driving in Paris or Manhatten, for gawdsake!
• cant recognize the inherent delusion in our religious dogmata,
• can't safely get baby food, vitamins or toothpaste from China
• can't manage our economies,
• can't protect our natural resources

what on earth do we have to offer to the fanatics who we want to persuade to not hate us?

We had better get our $#!! together!

Just trying to get things in perspective!

Asher

Click to expand...

Asher,

Take your pills quick

Actually this did make the UK news and the Commander of the British vessel did look a bit sheepish... It would be unkind to say that I hope AIG insure the UK sub, but I suspect that's not the case and I'll end up paying for a bit of the repair. Unlike theatres, however, they wont put a tile with my name on the front.

Mike

Mike,

It may be surprising to see such a serious essay as I posted, as if it was "Photography News".

I was trying to get things into some perspective after at least 3 OPF photographers lost their jobs due to the economic downturn. One of them Thierry has been instrumental in Nicolas Claris being able to bring to us so much news of the Sinar MF sytem and that expanded out connection to the Leaf backs by way of using the same platform and Schneider optics. So a lot of things seemed to be going sour at the same time.

I am a happy guy despite things going wrong as that's my disposition but I do realize the practical side of things and the need for a lot of folk to economize in these tough economic times. These two events, coming close one after the other just points to our good luck, after all, in making it through another day with no tragedy. I feel we are fortunate, most of us here on OPF. It's good, every so often to count one's blessings and both thank recognize our friends.

That;s what I'm doing, I guess!

Asher

Hi Asher

I'm actually delighted to see such a serious post - as you say we do well to count our blessings in times good and bad - and indeed we have friends here for whom times are difficult at present. I was briefly worried that you were less of a happy guy than usual when I read your last couple of paragraphs about the failures of western government and hoped to cheer you up, not offend.

Mike