[sac-forum] Re: [Fwd: BBC E-mail: US team wins asteroid competition]

A good, but telling article. Whilst I agree in principle with the fact that the tracking and potential deflection of asteroids should definitely be considered important, the folks at "The Planetary Society" are really grandstanding on this and giving "Joe Average" another reason to worry about his future. And the popular press is eating it up - another potential disaster to sell copy. With statements like:
"Apophis isn't science fiction, it isn't a blockbuster Hollywood movie; it is very real," said Dan Geraci, the Planetary Society's board chairman.
It's obvious who they're playing to. No one in the astronomical scientific environment thinks that any asteroid is Sci-Fi. After all, TU24 only missed Bob's chimney by a mere 340K miles! :-) 

Thanks for the pointer.

Tim


On Feb 27, 2008, at 9:36 AM, Andrew Goodwin wrote:


Very interesting.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        BBC E-mail: US team wins asteroid competition
Date:   Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:53:03 GMT
From:   Darla <darlag@xxxxxxx>
To:     a.goodwin1@xxxxxxx
** US team wins asteroid competition **
A US team wins a $50,000 competition to design a spacecraft that will "tag" a potentially 
dangerous asteroid.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/7265608.stm >

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