Popular Science: What would we do if an asteroid slammed Earth on July 12, 2038?
According to NASA, an asteroid that's somewhere between the size of a football field and half a mile is gonna smack us in 2038. Probability 72%. Part of their assessment is that we are grossly unprepared. If we're going to survive it, different countries will have to work together and pool our technology & resources.
That made me immediately think of this obscure Sean Connery / Natalie Wood gem. I saw it when I was a little kid and I don't remember much except that it was one of the Cold War flicks that focused on USA/Russia relations and how that could make or break the future of humankind. From what I remember about this movie, Earth could potentially survive the impact but only if the 2 mutually-loathing superpowers would work together.
Coming true in theaters near you 2038.
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Reply by bratface
on June 23, 2024 at 3:51 PM
It looks like my part of the country (PNW) is safe?
Reply by Midi-chlorian_Count
on June 23, 2024 at 6:55 PM
Clickbait!!
Reply by rooprect
on June 23, 2024 at 9:39 PM
Yea, scientists are notorious for clickbait, but I think the “hypothetical” part is the “cataclysmic death and destruction” mentioned in the paragraph before it. The asteroid itself is real, so the only iffy part is the 72% probability of impact. But things don’t look good…
Reply by rooprect
on June 23, 2024 at 9:41 PM
I saw in other articles it mentions Texas as a likely point of impact, saying we need evacuation protocol. Wouldn’t it be funny if they couldn’t evacuate due to a certain wall and razor wire in place? 🤐
Reply by bratface
on June 23, 2024 at 10:14 PM
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Reply by Adam
on June 27, 2024 at 4:20 AM
That turned dark really quickly didn't it. What has hypothetical scientific what ifs got to do with border control?
Reply by rooprect
on June 27, 2024 at 3:30 PM
Did you read the article? It literally says that nations would need to assist in evacuation and emergency assistance.
This really is a dark topic. Even though I expect the asteroid will be on the small side and mostly burn up, if it does turn out to be half a mile and it hits Texas, they'll have a lotta 'splainin to do.
Reply by Midi-chlorian_Count
on June 28, 2024 at 5:17 AM
Again, there is no asteroid. It was an entirely hypothetical scenario.
https://www.livescience.com/space/asteroids/no-nasa-hasnt-warned-of-an-impending-asteroid-strike-in-2038-heres-what-really-happened
Reply by rooprect
on June 28, 2024 at 7:42 AM
Yikes, then there was some horrific news reporting, but like I said in my earlier post scientists often overhype themselves (that's how they get funded) so they can't lay all the blame on the media.
All the same, this movie (which is more of a political thriller than scifi) is a great watch with an interesting resolution. Makes you wonder how governments would react in a real disaster situation.
Reply by Midi-chlorian_Count
on June 28, 2024 at 9:08 AM
I watched the trailer after seeing your post. I'd never heard of this before but am intrigued to see it now, especially with Sir Sean appearing.
Actually got me thinking again about Armageddon and whether we could get a Galaxy Quest style sequel where some senile old president is facing this type of scenario and decides the best course of action would be to send the actor Ben Affleck on a mission to destroy the threat, as he'd "done it" previously. Er... Mr President, that was just a film!
But he'll hear nothing of it and recruits a bemused Ben Affleck to lead the team to save the Earth...