It seems that Earth is an angry planet judging by the threats that are being exchanged between nations. America and North Korea are threatening one another with nuclear weapons and Spain is in turmoil because the Catalans want to break away and form their own nation. We have a very complicated shooting war in the Middle East and that has been morphing into a religious crusade that brings terrorist attacks on civilians in many world cities.
Even where nations are at peace there are tensions over trade and the latest flash point is the tide of refugees fleeing war zones or in many cases escaping the economic hardship of poor countries which can not finance even enough basic food to keep their citizens alive. Their perilous journeys are finding closed frontiers and they are fast becoming the world's " unwanted " !
Unfortunately, not even a threat to this planet from the mystery of the universe in which it circles the sun in our galaxy is able to bring the nations to consensus to try and avert danger. We are aware that millions of years ago just such an object collided with earth, creating a dust cloud that enveloped the world and not only wiped out the Dinosaurs but most of the creatures that existed in that time frame. The few survivors went on to create the world we know today.
An amateur with a private telescope based in Hawaii discovered an unusual object - thought to be either a meteorite or a comet - that had entered our solar system from what is termed the " Kuiper belt " - an area where debris left over after the big bang circles in endless orbit. Sometimes these collide, sending matter on a new course which may enter our solar system and pass close to earth.
This object was given the designation A/2017/U1 and it is estimated that it is about four hundred metres in diameter. Should it collide with earth a mass of that size would create a titanic nuclear explosion and deliver a giant tsunami and a dust cloud that might obliterate sunlight for a period of years. It could eliminate human life on this planet.
Science tracked its journey with trepidation. When it passed near the planet Mercury the massive gravity effect of our sun caused it to be slung into a new orbit which caused it to pass earth at a distance of just fifteen million miles - and in space equations that is considered a " near miss " !
From time to time our planet does get hit with objects from outer space. Many burn up before they hit the surface but the history books record devastation that can only have been objects from space hitting this planet. One such meteorite struck a remote region of Russia and flattened hundred of miles of forest. There is evidence that this is not unusual and there is the expectation that similar hits will occur in the future.
Astronomers track most large meteorites sith a possible earth orbit, but visitors like A/2017/U1 can appear at very short notice. Had it be destined to strike earth we would have had only a few months to prepare or take action to divert its course.
Perhaps it will take such a fast approaching Armageddon to makes the tribes of earth forget their differences and combined their efforts to survive such a catastrophe. It seems that A/2017/U1 failed to deliver such a message !
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