Odds of an Earth Impact
 

Could Earth Be Hit, Like Jupiter Just Was?

The recent bruising Jupiter received from a cosmic impact is a violent reminder that our solar system is a shooting gallery that sometimes blasts Earth.

Still, what are the odds of a cosmic impact threatening our planet?

So far 784 near-Earth objects (NEOs) more than a half-mile wide (1 km) have been found.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/200907...jupiterjustwas





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they can barely predict the 5 day weather let alone all this cosmic crap

Let's not forget that we have an atmosphere... and are covered by 70% water... so even if there is a chance something actually hit the planet.... it would only have a 30% chance of hitting land at that....

Oh yeah did someone also say that Jupiter is 1318 times bigger than the Earth? Little obvious why it got hit? Maybe because it's a MUCH bigger target?

Anyone losing sleep over these issues needs to get their head examined.

According to scientists the odds of Earth being hit is 100% that it will be hit...just a question of when.

i see somethingin the sky!!

oh wait, it's just a bug on my window


never mind

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

thanks for that laugh, needed that one :1orglaugh:1orglaugh

Mmm, we are in a secure place between giant planets, but someday this will happen, of course... and the day this happen, all life form on earth will be decimated.

well if it would hit watter it would create a tsunami so big that it will still wipe out a big part of the world

oh and you're right, thanks to jupiter earth doesn't get hit often... Jupiter works like a vacuum cleaner and attracts a lot of the rocks flying around

The odds of the big one hitting us while we're on this planet are probably not that great, since we're just a tiny blip in it's history.

But humans are so self important they would probably think it'll hit any day. We'll kill ourselves before any meteor does.

I am still surprized how man feels superior to control everyting...

Well done

chances are good imo. we should be predicting Jupiter impacts but even with a probe in that area, we still have no clue.

getting hit is inevitable, its just a matter of when.
it's happened in the past and will again.

well Jupiter is 11 times larger than the earth and i believe its gravitational pull is 2.5 times stronger than ours too...

Let's hope so anyway, and be done with the human race...

I think the human race would survive. Granted, millions and perhaps billions would die, and life for the ones who lived would drastically change, but we'd get by.

Jupiter is a huge comet blocker for earth. The size and gravity of Jupiter sucks in alot of those rocks heading our way. The last impact on Jupiter made holes big enough on Jupiter surfers that you could fit the planet earth inside them a few times over.

I saw on Discovery chan that Earth gets hit by asteroids and comets from time to time, but it happens very rarely. Like once in a million years.

So I doubt we will see one in our lifetime.

Anything can happen at anytime....

http://www.virginmedia.com/images/ac...avolta-431.jpg

ADG

Jupiters enormous gravitational pull actually pulls the majority of asteroids away from earth but the chances of us actually getting hit again are 100%. It has happened in the past with catastrophic consequences and it will happen again.

There are various heading towards us now. One was supposed to be due in 2039 but it might have changed course by now. The thing is alot can happen to change it's course in that time. Asteroids we think will hit could miss and those we think will miss could hit. Having a gas giant in our solar system helps as it's gravitational pull is so massive, but it could still happen in our life-time.

my theory is that a comet hit the earth 750 million years ago. it hit what is now called the Hudson Bay. it then filled in with water and the water eroded away all the evidence. just look how round the bay is and then you tell me im full of shit.

Shoemaker-Levy 9 was the set of comets that already hit the earth long time ago, I believe the shoemaker-levy even it just remnats of what destroyed the earth before.

Shoemaker Levy 9 was the comet that hit Jupiter.