Monday, April 18, 2005
Lucifer's hammer?
I never know whether stories like this one are distressing, or ultimately comforting:
Why Lucifer's hammer? Science fiction afficionados -- or even simply fans with a clue -- know that the granddaddy of all asteroid catastrophe books is Lucifer's Hammer, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. After thirty years, it remains the global catastrophe novel to beat.
A GIGANTIC asteroid that is on a course to miss the Earth by a whisker in 2029 could go around its orbit again and score a direct hit a few years later.
Astronomers have calculated that the 350m-wide asteroid called 2004 MN4 will pass by Earth at a distance of between 24,140km and 40,235km - about one-tenth of the distance between the Earth and the moon and close enough to be seen with the naked eye.
Though they are sure it will miss us, the astronomers are worried about the disturbance such a close pass will give to the asteroid's orbit. It might put 2004 MN4 on course for a collision in 2034 or a year or two later.
The unpredictability of its behaviour means the danger might not become apparent until it is too late.
Why Lucifer's hammer? Science fiction afficionados -- or even simply fans with a clue -- know that the granddaddy of all asteroid catastrophe books is Lucifer's Hammer, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. After thirty years, it remains the global catastrophe novel to beat.
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