bill nye
Bill Nye the Science Guy didn't exactly ease Luke's fears about an asteroid headed toward earth. (AP Photo/file)

Bill Nye says 45-meter asteroid coming near earth reason to be concerned

BY Jamie Skorheim  on February 14, 2013 @ 12:49 pm (Updated: 1:55 pm - 2/14/13 )

Asteroids headed toward earth are a popular plotline in movies, but those not well versed in the sciences might not know how to take news there's one coming near us in real-life. With the asteroid called 2012 DA14 set to come close to earth on Friday, KIRO Radio's Luke Burbank Show decided to call up a man known for his ability to explain science to us laymen.

While Burbank was hoping famed Science Guy Bill Nye would calm his fears, he actually says this type of thing is something to be concerned about.

"If one of these things hit Seattle, that's it," says Nye. "It's not like, oh no there'll be damage, some windows will be blown out. No, the whole place is leveled."

Nye says an asteroid the size of 2012 DA14 hit over Siberia in 1908, and even though the asteroids disintegrate at the force of the earth's atmosphere, the sheer power still causes serious damage on earth.

"This is what happened over Siberia. It blew down trees over 200 square kilometers. A Mount Saint Helens kind of explosion," says Nye. "It was just the pressure, the shock wave from this thing."

And that's the damage from a 45-meter asteroid. If they get up over 50 to 100 meters, Nye says the damage can be even more severe.

"Then you've got continent destroying, tidal waves, wipe out the world's economy sort of things."

Nye says scientists are assured this asteroid passing "very close" by earth - around 17,000 miles away - on Friday won't hit anything, but he says the fact is, another probably will, and in the not too distant future.

"It's very likely, that somebody in the next couple generations, your kids or their kids kids are going to have to deal with it."

Scientists are only aware of about 1 percent of these smaller objects that threaten the earth, says Nye.

"In other words, there's 99 percent more of these 45-meter objects, half a football field objects, that we don't know when they'll cross the earth's orbit how fast they're going, whether they're spinning, and so if you like to worry about things, this is a great opportunity."

There is one upside. Nye says we're the first generation of humans that can actually do something about it.

"As far as anybody knows, the ancient dinosaurs did nothing about the asteroid impact. They let it happen," says Nye. "We could if we can identify these things, we could go out there with a space craft and change their speed."

"If you could identify it 10 years out or 20 years ahead of time, it would be in a sense straightforward for space-faring nations to get together and build a rocket to go out there and just whack it, just run into it, a kinetic impacter."

Luckily, we won't need to do that in this case. But this won't be the last time we'll see 2012 DA14. Nye says in 2080 it looks like the asteroid will make another close path. Hopefully by that time the kinetic impacter will be ready.

Jamie Skorheim, MyNorthwest.com Editor
Whether it's floating on Green Lake, eating shrimp tacos at Agua Verde, or taking weekend drives out to the Cascades, she loves to enjoy the Pacific Northwest lifestyle as much as humanly possible.
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Comments (54)


  • Add A Comment

  • Gar57 wrote...
    And there you have it folks!
    February 14, 2013 2:44 pm
    the Flat-Earth righties, as usual, have officially abandoned evidence and fact.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • mnpat wrote...
    Our current climate conditions are a grain of sand in the beach of time
    February 14, 2013 2:47 pm
    Geological conditions of our planet have created a wide range of tempertures, most of which are not conducive to our way of life. We can help make the air cleaner but to kid yourself into believing you can actually change the living orb's natural death throws is obscene.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ibedavey wrote...
    Bill Nye the weird guy
    February 14, 2013 3:50 pm
    This is the same guy who believes in human caused global warming. Doofus. Viewership must have dropped for him. Must find something scary.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • 509 wrote...
    Wow...all the comments on global warming!!!
    February 14, 2013 3:55 pm
    Hey, the real issue is can the Russians, Chinese, or Indians develop their space programs in time to do something to prevent astroids from hitting earth. There is NO MANNED AMERICAN SPACE PROGRAM...we cannot even put a monkey into space today!! Well, we can if we write the Russians a check. DOESN'T ANYBODY CARE ABOUT THIS ISSUE!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Moondoggie wrote...
    Bill Nye
    February 14, 2013 4:59 pm
    Got caught fudging a video for Al gore that purported to show the effects of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. That’s going to hurt his credibility. And the Reporterette on CNN thinking that global warming might be to blame for the asteroid was pretty funny.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    Silly Willy B Law the first
    February 14, 2013 5:56 pm
    you messed up with your history lesson Willy. Where was GOD in the story? All you RWNJ never leave God out of a story. Your slipping Willy. To much drinking or not enough? Where was the great FLOOD in your story? Remember when you were a kid? Remember the Noah Ark story? You went to school with Noah. Get on your knees and give thanks be to God he let you on the ark. When Speaker of the House, Boner started crying. Look on page 1432 in the Bible you were the fat kid making fun of Noah. Its going to be fire next time so get off of Bill Nye's case. Its very true you can't teach an old dirty dog a new trick. Now tell us how very sorry you are about what you said about Bill Nye. Right wingers said it best "turn or burn".
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    We need more pictures of Jamie Griswold!
    February 14, 2013 6:09 pm
    I will D-mail them to U.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Mike Hunt wrote...
    The CNN babe was funny w/Bill Nye
    February 14, 2013 6:09 pm
    I think it even caught Bill off guard suggesting an asteroid hit being caused by the thought of 'global wrarming'

    And for those convinced this is a R vs D argument - there are many of us that lean left studying science at the U that don't buy it either.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Thanks Mr. Hunt
    February 14, 2013 8:29 pm
    The media loves a good catastrophe. The scientists need the grant money and the liberals need more ways to extract more money from the low information sheep that believe this BS. Anybody notice how fat Al Gore has gotten off the $millions he's made off the idiots who actually believe this scam.....as P.T. Barnum said: "There's one born every minute". Al Gore is the P.T. Barnum and Bernie Madoff of this generation....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Mike Hunt wrote...
    Make that "global warming"
    February 14, 2013 6:11 pm
    link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-QA-jlbRqY
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FishLips wrote...
    How comical...
    February 14, 2013 9:50 pm

    that we have a story about an asteroid and all of the discussion is about global warming. Typical.

    Meanwhile, in Chelyabinsk, Russia...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO-CMiEmq0Y
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }