German schoolboy, 13, corrects NASA's asteroid figures
 

This german kid proved NASA was wrong about its predictions on asteroid collision.

Check the full story here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080415...y_080415214429

I'm happy to know there are kids out there that are intetested in more than videogames. A star should be named after this kid. :thumbsup

I like Nasa's predictions better. Holy shit.
Nasa says - 1 in 45,000
Kid's - 1 in 450
:ticking

that will seriously suck if that does impact.
But if a satellite can change the trajectory enough, then why can't we get something in the way early enough to make a more positive difference?

NASA's response... OOPS! :2 cents:

if you like this thread, you may also read the official GFY thread about asteroids

fucking-around-and-business-discussion/648605-asteroid-hit-earth-21st-century.html

Thank god I will have my own place on Mars by then.....

1:450 sucks

Well, it will all end 12-21-2012 anyways, so why bother ;)

there's a bigger chance that this asteroid will hit us apparently than the risk that you'll get infected with HIV while having normal unprotected sex with an infected person (according to some sources)

:warning

So they can put a spaceship into orbit on a regular basis, but can not calculate that?? Sounds to me like someone added a few extra zeros to keep from having hysteria in the US. Watch the number of religious people that start talking about it hitting because of our sins.

Yeah i was gonna ring nasa and tell them they got it wrong :1orglaugh

Yeah. Something like Armageddon movie. Why not blowing it up in space? So when (and IF) it reaches earth, it will be smaller and unharmful. :upsidedow

"There's only one problem with the story: the kid's sums are in fact wrong, NASA's are right, and the ESA swear blind they never said any different. An ESA spokesman in Germany told the Reg this morning: "A small boy did do these calculations, but he made a mistake... NASA's figures are correct." "

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04...pophis_denial/

were all gonna die

someone forgot to carry the one

Armageddon time!!

Yeah ... someday :pimp

:Oh crap
I agree, it seems like if a small collision with a orbiting satellite could change the trajectory, then why couldn't we devise some type of plan to off set its course? :2 cents:

AHHHHHHHHHHH !! Run for your lives!!!!! Hide somewhere...

crazy shit...

I think it was more like D'OH

This isn't the first time NASA has been shown incorrect and at time arrogant when it comes to safety. I am glad this boy corrected them, and I think that all schools need to for math projects - look at all NASA data and double check things or we'll loose another landing vehicle on Mars because they forgot there is a difference between metric and imperial

when I was 13, the only thing I could do, was to pick my nose!

Feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeear

Quoted because people don't read a whole thread.



So this kid's claims were picked up by German tabloids and spread across the Internet and the ESA quotes in the original "story" are fake.

It is still interesting that what he did was deduce an external factor, not a math error. Even if he is wrong he is a bright kid!

reread the post thanks.

The schoolboy took into consideration the risk of Apophis running into one or more of the 40,000 satellites orbiting Earth during its path close to the planet on April 13 2029.

40,000 satellites? How many do we have now?

he owned NASA hardcore

anyone else remember Deep Impact....

everytime theres an asteroid coming....the president is black :2 cents:

About 8000 manmade so the rest is "space junk"

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong... but a satellite is pretty much any debris that is orbiting a mass. So say for example there is a soccer ball floating around orbiting Earth... that would be a satellite.

Although in this case maybe they are talking about man-made satellites, I have no idea, that just seems like an awful lot.

According to Oberright, John E. "Satellite, Artificial." World Book Online Reference Center. 2004. World Book, Inc. http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/artifi...worldbook.html

about 3000 useful satellites launched by the US and 40 other countries orbit Earth along with about 6000 "pieces of space junk."

You didn't read the whole thread did yea.. :error