8 ms·

Witnessing such an event could help get humanity serious about existential risk, from comets or otherwise. I, for one, am hoping for an impact.

Fargren 14y ago
Can't we help this happen somehow?
- youngerdryas 14y ago
  Not by 2014.
  - cryptoz 14y ago
    Almost certainly not by 2014, but there are still a lot of factors that are unknown. We certainly can't launch anything to go out there since the travel time alone forbids it. But if more accurate estimates come in a few months from now putting it very close, but missing, Mars, there might be some kind of crazy laser engineering to be done. I realize how crazy this is, but there's always reason to dream and brainstorm.
mtgx 14y ago
In a way this is why I'm a bit disappointed that meteor didn't pass across US. Since it passed across another country, I don't think they now see it as much of a "threat" as they would've if it passed across US' sky. On the other hand, I'm glad at least it passed one of the big countries like Russia, which now want to form an international anti-asteroid defense system. If this would've passed across Iceland, nobody would've cared.
kamaal 14y ago
>>could help get humanity serious about existential risk A comet hit Jupiter in the 90's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Shoemaker%E2%80%93Levy_9 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Shoemaker%E2%80%93Levy_9) we watched it and did nothing about it. Yes I understand that we may get serious about our own house when the neighbors house is on fire. But frankly I don't think we will ever get serious. Right now Mankind's main priorities are in inventing weapons and finding most ingenious ways to kill each other.
- alexandros 14y ago
  Actually, we're not doing too bad in not killing each other (too much). See Pinker's "The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined" and related research. I do hope the trajectory continues though.
- carleverett 14y ago
  "Right now Mankind's main priorities are in inventing weapons and finding most ingenious ways to kill each other." This comment is absurd. There are, what, maybe 100,000 people in the entire world right now actively working on creating new weapons. Certainly less than 1/1000 of the population. This has hardly been a priority of mankind since the atom bomb - far more people are directly involved with preventing climate change. Most people are pretty forward thinking. As far as preparing for a meteor/comet collision with Earth, we would definitely need to see an imminent threat before we really started making progress. If we got a first-hand look at a significant collision with Mars and were able to document just how catastrophic it is to the planet, I definitely think more attention would be paid to preparing for a similar situation on Earth.
  - firefoxman1 14y ago
    Exactly. I wouldn't go so far as to say "Most people are pretty forward thinking" but I'm pretty sure curing diseases and global warming are higher up on mankind's priorities list. And obsessing over the latest iPhone or clothing trend are even higher on the list.
  - jlgreco 14y ago
    Total percentage of manpower is only one way of measuring effort.
    - carleverett 14y ago
      True, but can you show me any fair measurement of effort that would support weapons innovation being the world's main priority right now?
bobsy 14y ago
Beyond this wouldn't it provide good information on the effects of a comet impacting a planet. We have a bunch of stuff on or above Mars. Isn't there something to learn by seeing the impact with probes so close? Or do we know everything there is to know about such impacts? The trouble with "getting serious" is there are far more threats on earth which are far more likely and thus more important to deal with. Why give big focus to a potential extinction threat when there are many flash points around the world. Korea for example. You then have the rising threat of cyber attacks. I wonder how well the general population of a country would do if it lost power for a week or two. I woke up with no power and when it came to making breakfast I felt a bit lost.. A few weeks ago someone in UK had a new virus and was in an isolation ward. I would say as we become even more over-crowded and travel becomes even easier a pandemic would potentially be as devastating and more likely than earth being hit by a large object.
- throwawayG9 14y ago
  Korea can't destroy the planet, thankfully.
alan_cx 14y ago
The evidence of global warming is there to see, for all, at any time. And still people completely dismiss it out of hand. So, no. An event like this on Mars wont make any difference to public opinion what so ever.
- venomsnake 14y ago
  If the impact happens - debris from this collision will come home to earth - and they may be bigger than dust.
  - pc86 14y ago
    What evidence do you have to suggest that a Martian impact will result in subsequent impacts on Earth?
    - bashinator 14y ago
      We've found meteorites ejected from Martian impacts that have landed in Antarctica. Mars' gravity is such that a sufficiently large impact can create ejecta traveling at greater than escape velocity.
TallGuyShort 14y ago
You would've thought the same thing about the meteor that exploded over Russia, knocked down a wall and shattered everybody's windows.
- madaxe 14y ago
  Russia is also a different planet.
squidsoup 14y ago
Well, collectively we certainly don't seem to be taking climate change seriously, the implications of which are known and more disastrous than a hypothetical comet striking our planet.
redthrowaway 14y ago
> I, for one, am hoping for an impact. I am, too, but not because of any higher principles or concern for humanity. I simply think it would be incredibly entertaining to watch something that big smash into a planet at Mach 164. The fact that we have quite a few cameras on and above Mars is a huge bonus. It would be the closest we could get to experiencing an impact of that magnitude without the unfortunate side effect of existential oblivion.

Fargren 14y ago

Can't we help this happen somehow?

youngerdryas 14y ago
Not by 2014.
- cryptoz 14y ago
  Almost certainly not by 2014, but there are still a lot of factors that are unknown. We certainly can't launch anything to go out there since the travel time alone forbids it. But if more accurate estimates come in a few months from now putting it very close, but missing, Mars, there might be some kind of crazy laser engineering to be done. I realize how crazy this is, but there's always reason to dream and brainstorm.

mtgx 14y ago

In a way this is why I'm a bit disappointed that meteor didn't pass across US. Since it passed across another country, I don't think they now see it as much of a "threat" as they would've if it passed across US' sky. On the other hand, I'm glad at least it passed one of the big countries like Russia, which now want to form an international anti-asteroid defense system. If this would've passed across Iceland, nobody would've cared.

kamaal 14y ago

>>could help get humanity serious about existential risk A comet hit Jupiter in the 90's (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Shoemaker%E2%80%93Levy_9 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Shoemaker%E2%80%93Levy_9) we watched it and did nothing about it. Yes I understand that we may get serious about our own house when the neighbors house is on fire. But frankly I don't think we will ever get serious. Right now Mankind's main priorities are in inventing weapons and finding most ingenious ways to kill each other.

alexandros 14y ago
Actually, we're not doing too bad in not killing each other (too much). See Pinker's "The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined" and related research. I do hope the trajectory continues though.
carleverett 14y ago
"Right now Mankind's main priorities are in inventing weapons and finding most ingenious ways to kill each other." This comment is absurd. There are, what, maybe 100,000 people in the entire world right now actively working on creating new weapons. Certainly less than 1/1000 of the population. This has hardly been a priority of mankind since the atom bomb - far more people are directly involved with preventing climate change. Most people are pretty forward thinking. As far as preparing for a meteor/comet collision with Earth, we would definitely need to see an imminent threat before we really started making progress. If we got a first-hand look at a significant collision with Mars and were able to document just how catastrophic it is to the planet, I definitely think more attention would be paid to preparing for a similar situation on Earth.
- firefoxman1 14y ago
  Exactly. I wouldn't go so far as to say "Most people are pretty forward thinking" but I'm pretty sure curing diseases and global warming are higher up on mankind's priorities list. And obsessing over the latest iPhone or clothing trend are even higher on the list.
- jlgreco 14y ago
  Total percentage of manpower is only one way of measuring effort.
  - carleverett 14y ago
    True, but can you show me any fair measurement of effort that would support weapons innovation being the world's main priority right now?

bobsy 14y ago

Beyond this wouldn't it provide good information on the effects of a comet impacting a planet. We have a bunch of stuff on or above Mars. Isn't there something to learn by seeing the impact with probes so close? Or do we know everything there is to know about such impacts? The trouble with "getting serious" is there are far more threats on earth which are far more likely and thus more important to deal with. Why give big focus to a potential extinction threat when there are many flash points around the world. Korea for example. You then have the rising threat of cyber attacks. I wonder how well the general population of a country would do if it lost power for a week or two. I woke up with no power and when it came to making breakfast I felt a bit lost.. A few weeks ago someone in UK had a new virus and was in an isolation ward. I would say as we become even more over-crowded and travel becomes even easier a pandemic would potentially be as devastating and more likely than earth being hit by a large object.

throwawayG9 14y ago
Korea can't destroy the planet, thankfully.

alan_cx 14y ago

The evidence of global warming is there to see, for all, at any time. And still people completely dismiss it out of hand. So, no. An event like this on Mars wont make any difference to public opinion what so ever.

venomsnake 14y ago
If the impact happens - debris from this collision will come home to earth - and they may be bigger than dust.
- pc86 14y ago
  What evidence do you have to suggest that a Martian impact will result in subsequent impacts on Earth?
  - bashinator 14y ago
    We've found meteorites ejected from Martian impacts that have landed in Antarctica. Mars' gravity is such that a sufficiently large impact can create ejecta traveling at greater than escape velocity.

TallGuyShort 14y ago

You would've thought the same thing about the meteor that exploded over Russia, knocked down a wall and shattered everybody's windows.

madaxe 14y ago
Russia is also a different planet.

squidsoup 14y ago

Well, collectively we certainly don't seem to be taking climate change seriously, the implications of which are known and more disastrous than a hypothetical comet striking our planet.

redthrowaway 14y ago

> I, for one, am hoping for an impact. I am, too, but not because of any higher principles or concern for humanity. I simply think it would be incredibly entertaining to watch something that big smash into a planet at Mach 164. The fact that we have quite a few cameras on and above Mars is a huge bonus. It would be the closest we could get to experiencing an impact of that magnitude without the unfortunate side effect of existential oblivion.