Is this the end of the world?

[s rougier]

NASA has announced that a 60m asteroid may strike the Earth on 15 Feb next year. It's too late to do anything about it except to try and predict the location of any impact.

[one eyed jack]

If it is then..It was nice knowing you.

Enjoy this song while it happens. It will ease your suffering if you just accept it

[one eyed jack]

Hopefully, fate will give us two minutes extra at the end to reflect on how great that song is before the first of many shock waves blows us apart.

[JamesW]

According to frankthring in the 'Aliens on Earth' thread, the Maya predicted that the end of the world would occur on 21 Dec 2012, in which case we won't be around next February anyway to worry about asteroid impacts. !wink!

(Note: I should add that Mayan scholars dispute that any such prediction was ever made, as do the present day Maya. The idea is generally regarded as pseudoscience and a misreprentation of Maya history and beliefs.)

[jimslip]

Not quite the end apparently:



My question for any boffins out there is this:

What powers the Earths continuous orbit around the Sun, why doesn't the Earth just slow down and stop?

[Alex L]

The perfect one to go out on!!

Played just after what's in store for us:

[william]

Jim Inter planetary physics my dear fellow-

Basically the earth is falling to the sun all the time but the pesky sun moves and it continues to fall pulled by the gravity of the sun - the sun moving keeps it all moving and it a headache trying to work it all out like what makes the sun move ? all about gravitational forces

[andy at handiwork]

JamesW wrote:' (Note: I should add that Mayan scholars dispute that any such prediction was ever made, as do the present day Maya. The idea is generally regarded as pseudoscience and a misreprentation of Maya history and beliefs.)"

Its always refreshing to read something rational and sensible on here.

[JamesW]

jimslip wrote:

> why doesn't the Earth just slow down and stop?


Because there is no air resistance in space nor any other source of drag or friction to slow the Earth down.

[Peter]

JamesW wrote:

> jimslip wrote:
>
> > why doesn't the Earth just slow down and stop?
>
>
> Because there is no air resistance in space nor any other
> source of drag or friction to slow the Earth down.
>
>

Although the moon affects the earth, and is slowing us down at a minuscule rate. We add a 'leap second' every so often to account for this.