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Original poster

Asteroid 2032

36 replies

MumofHennHals · 14/02/2025 22:50

I've seen the news about the asteroid hitting Earth in 2032 anyone else feel really weird about this?

Space creeps me out anyway, but the possibility of it being catastrophic to a entire city is something else to my brain 😂

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OneLemonDog · 25/02/2025 20:29

5foot5 · 25/02/2025 18:14

If you were underwhelmed by the Millennium Bug it just goes to show what a good job was done beforehand on preventing serious problems

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Absolutely, but what I mean is the 2038 problem is far smaller in scope and should be far more easily manageable.

5foot5 · 25/02/2025 18:14

OneLemonDog · 25/02/2025 17:37

Only for very outdated computers, if they aren't upgraded between now and then. It'll be even more underwhelming than the "Millennium Bug".

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If you were underwhelmed by the Millennium Bug it just goes to show what a good job was done beforehand on preventing serious problems

OneLemonDog · 25/02/2025 17:37

5foot5 · 25/02/2025 10:29

The Year 2038 problem is another computer time problem. Some computers store time as the number of seconds since 00:00 on 1st January 1970. If this is still stored as a signed 32 bit integer then in the early hours of 19th January 2038 they will overflow and think it is 13th December 1901. Presumably with hilarious results.

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Only for very outdated computers, if they aren't upgraded between now and then. It'll be even more underwhelming than the "Millennium Bug".

5foot5 · 25/02/2025 10:29

User14March · 25/02/2025 00:20

Can you expand?

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The Year 2038 problem is another computer time problem. Some computers store time as the number of seconds since 00:00 on 1st January 1970. If this is still stored as a signed 32 bit integer then in the early hours of 19th January 2038 they will overflow and think it is 13th December 1901. Presumably with hilarious results.

Squarestones · 25/02/2025 06:16

Thanks for those links @User14March, some more nuance to my understanding of it all :)

Wondering if that risk of us not noticing would apply to medium /city killer asteroids or the smaller ones which explode in the atmosphere (and still cause damage but not mass fatalities).

At the moment I'm more worried about my beeping smoke alarm TBH, and how to get the battery changed as quickly as possible

farmlife2 · 25/02/2025 03:17

User14March · 25/02/2025 00:10

What I hadn’t realised we can only spot some threats so odds are a civilisation ending one would take us totally unawares.

Would we even be told if one was definitely coming to take us out? There could be lots of good reasons not to.

User14March · 25/02/2025 01:12

https://m.jpost.com/science/article-692685 It seems the 2019 asteroid went undetected & there’s a small chance a very large one could sneak up on us.

User14March · 25/02/2025 00:54

Thanks @Squarestones Bennu is massive & they don’t seem to worried about risks way into the future: https://www.livescience.com/space/asteroids/nasas-most-wanted-the-5-most-dangerous-asteroids-in-the-solar-system#

I thought interesting been in likely contact with a water filled planet.

Squarestones · 25/02/2025 00:36

This is the guy who gave the talk/has written a book on this, and lots of links to articles he's done recently if you want more info https://robingeorgeandrews.com/sciencewriting

Squarestones · 25/02/2025 00:33

User14March · 25/02/2025 00:19

@Squarestones but we can’t see/detect so won’t know about approach of the majority?

But the ones we can't detect are too small to be a worry. He said there's a scale which was something like

Massive asteroids- called planet killers - there aren't very many of these, we've spotted all of them and tracked their orbit and they won't hit us.

Middling asteroids - called city killers, size of the one the thread is about - there are more of these and we are still trying to spot them all and work out which ones might hit us. These are the ones we would shoot with the 'Dart' robot to change their trajectory if they were going to hit us. He said scientists will probably have spotted and tracked all of these within a few years.

Mini asteroids - there are loads of these and we cant track them but on the other hand they won't do huge damage. They might at worst explode in the atmosphere causing damage to buildings and injuries, but not mass loss of life like a city killer

Finallybackinbootcuts · 25/02/2025 00:27

OneLemonDog · 25/02/2025 00:21

I bumped the thread to post the link that it's now updates to zero chance.

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Fair, but why are you telling me this? 😂

OneLemonDog · 25/02/2025 00:21

Finallybackinbootcuts · 25/02/2025 00:20

Wasnr the Tunguska event caused by a meteorite? Don’t fancy the idea of that happening to a city.

Still if they know it’s there we’ll have warning before it hits presumably?

(If it hits I mean)

Edited
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I bumped the thread to post the link that it's now updates to zero chance.

Finallybackinbootcuts · 25/02/2025 00:20

LaurieFairyCake · 14/02/2025 23:31

One in 43 chance?

We'll be fine Smile

Wasnr the Tunguska event caused by a meteorite? Don’t fancy the idea of that happening to a city.

Still if they know it’s there we’ll have warning before it hits presumably?

(If it hits I mean)

User14March · 25/02/2025 00:20

5foot5 · 25/02/2025 00:06

19th January 2038.

That's the one to keep an eye on.

Can you expand?

User14March · 25/02/2025 00:19

@Squarestones but we can’t see/detect so won’t know about approach of the majority?

Squarestones · 25/02/2025 00:14

Went to a really interesting talk on how we can stop asteroids recently, there's a bit of Nasa called the Planetary Defence Corps or similar and they have demonstrated they can fire a robot at one to change its course. Imagine being able to say that's your job!

MeandBobbyMcGoo · 25/02/2025 00:14

One fell swoop sounds like a good way to go - saying that as a person who just went through a long and harrowing palliative care path with a parent.

suburberphobe · 25/02/2025 00:11

might as well just accept it and enjoy life as we know it while we have it.

I agree.

Tomorrow is promised to no-one....

User14March · 25/02/2025 00:10

What I hadn’t realised we can only spot some threats so odds are a civilisation ending one would take us totally unawares.

5foot5 · 25/02/2025 00:06

19th January 2038.

That's the one to keep an eye on.

SoScarletItWas · 15/02/2025 06:55

Quite frankly, at this stage it’s all we deserve!

HelpMeGetThrough · 15/02/2025 06:54

I wouldn't worry about it, Trump will save the planet.

He will nudge it out the way with his ego. 🤔

Klovos · 15/02/2025 06:18

MumofHennHals · 14/02/2025 22:50

I've seen the news about the asteroid hitting Earth in 2032 anyone else feel really weird about this?

Space creeps me out anyway, but the possibility of it being catastrophic to a entire city is something else to my brain 😂

Maybe worry about the things that are an actual threat, like wars and the collapse of ecosystems happening in daily fashion

OneLemonDog · 15/02/2025 04:17

Is there any option for expedited delivery?