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)


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  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/01mar_meteornetwork/
    February 14, 2013 9:58 pm
    Every day TONS of rocks and stuff enters the atmosphere ....yawn
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dexterjibs wrote...
    What should concern you
    February 14, 2013 10:21 pm
    Is that Bill Nye doesn't even have a degree in science but he is given credibility. What a fraud Bill Nye is. I won't let my kids watch this tard.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Bill worked at Renton Boeing in shipping and receiving
    February 14, 2013 10:34 pm
    and he is no rocket scientist.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Booger Barnes wrote...
    Shipping and Recieving
    February 15, 2013 2:53 pm
    Making up stuff is fun, isn't it? If you say it enough someone might even think it's a fact.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    @Booger (what a alias!) Some of us were there at the time.
    February 15, 2013 9:53 pm
    .
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • FishLips wrote...
    Let it go
    February 14, 2013 10:40 pm
    with all the Bill Nye hate, geez. The guy has a degree in science, and he knows what he's talking about. And he certainly speaks the truth in this interview.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ronzilla wrote...
    Jamie Griswold is a hottie.
    February 15, 2013 3:47 am
    Bill Nye is a nottie.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • doublej wrote...
    This
    February 15, 2013 9:14 am
    Best comment on this entire article
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • AKAF wrote...
    Bill is nuts...
    February 16, 2013 12:16 am
    Back in the 70s when I was going through grade school we were taught that the earth went through cycles and another ice age would be coming soon (no date set.) Bill is just another crack pot claiming natural processes as being man made.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • longwayhome wrote...
    Why don't
    February 16, 2013 7:15 pm
    You regular (republican) posters take one day off a week to think about your addiction. I recently did not post for about a week (nobody noticed) and I came away with the realization that I was wasting my time arguing with a bunch of people I don't know, or even care about. I'm a liberal and vote Democrat when I think it's in the best interest of the country. I voted for a few Republicans in 2012 because I thought they were the best one's for the job. You party line republican posters who are on this site all day are worrisome, I hope you find some help in your bored little insignificant lives.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • longwayhome wrote...
    Spell check bill
    February 16, 2013 7:57 pm
    I have a good life, thanks for asking.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    Oxymoronic
    February 17, 2013 12:00 am
    I'm a liberal and vote Democrat when I think it's in the best interest of the country.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • AKAF wrote...
    I'm sad that Luke didn't go with the CNN question....
    February 17, 2013 12:22 am
    was this close call with a space object due to 'global warming?" And people wonder why Foxnews is the highest rated cable news ratings. Luke could have scored some cool points in mocking CNN but failed to do so. Luke remains a hack...forgot to mention the 'big' questions. If it was a idiot question from Foxnews Luke would love to highlight it.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • monroemad wrote...
    I HAVE MY TINFOIL HAT ON BILL!
    February 18, 2013 4:19 pm
    Can anyone take this guy seriously? He is the most whacked global warming guy on the planet. He won't even look at any science on that.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    the Flat-Earth righties, as usual, have officially abandoned evidence and fact.
    February 19, 2013 10:11 am
    Uh we flat earthers even remember back in the 70 and early 80 of how we would all be buried under 70 plus feet of glacier by now. You remember that Gar? Or just your more recent brainwashing by the Lib media?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    LongwayLOST!
    February 19, 2013 10:14 am
    How is your drive to get me kicked off the internet going for you?????????
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }