It seems 2013, will see our planet remain in an area of space, littered with natural space rocks from the size of a grain of sand to much larger pieces that will impact our planet’s surface. The recent, close flyby of a small asteroid on 2/15, proves that single asteroids can be accompanied by smaller chunks of rock, most of which cannot be detected by our current level of technology, but are large enough for impact to occur.
Since the Siberian impact, there have been several sightings of fireballs around the world, from Cuba to San Francisco. These sightings seemed to happen about 24 hours before the actual asteroid passed the earth and some 24 hours afterward, indicating the asteroid was embedded within a cloud of debris. With this in mind, we must realize that we may have hundreds of close calls in the coming months and years from natural debris that isn’t even detected by government space agencies in any country. Given this, we must also realize that the two comets expected to pass by earth this year will displace the area of debris we are near and perhaps, literally spray rocks of various sizes in our direction. This—on top of the debris created by the comets themselves.
The first comet, C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) will come within some 30, million miles of earth, in the first week of June.
The second comet, C/2012 S1 will be closest to earth 12/2013, less than 40, million miles.
Either of these comets have the potential of disrupting natural space debris, as well as creating their own fragments, during their visit by literally falling apart. The heat from the sun can cause internal pressure to build within the objects to the point of exploding them. The influence of gravitational force from the comets themselves could also change the route of natural space debris by drawing it in a certain direction.
We could be facing a massive bombardment of debris, resulting in many impacts on our planet, some more explosive than human manufactured nuclear devices. This scenario could present itself in the form of waves of debris, hitting the surface. Perhaps, creating many explosions of various sizes from that experienced in Siberia recently to massive explosions similar to the Tunguska event of 1908. Incidentally, the reason Siberia seems to be affected by impacts more than other areas on the planet is its close proximity to the polar region. From the point of view of space, this region of the world is more exposed to passing debris and has a thinner layer of atmosphere .This allows for less heat from friction on extraterrestrial objects thus, allowing a greater number of surface impacts.
During 2013 and beyond, the old saying, “You ain’t seen nothing yet,” may apply to human civilization with what may have in store for us from the heavens, making the recent Siberian explosion seem like a common firecracker in comparison.
We humans may be facing the end of our reign on planet earth, as fire from the sky may obliterate us. On the other hand, absolutely nothing may occur and we will continue on as a species, spared from extinction.
What the recent fireball activity and the prospects for much greater hits in the near future should tell us is that we as a species are not in control of our destiny, as we may face extinction from the heavens at any given time. The misconception that human civilization will only end, if we self destruct in nuclear obliteration has suddenly become archaic, in light of our vulnerability from space objects hitting our planet. We are also mislead in the notion of our being able to blast away any object large enough to be considered a planet killer with nuclear weapons, long before it becomes a threat. If such an object were hit with a nuclear device, it would cause it to fragment into perhaps hundreds of smaller pieces, many of which would impact the surface with explosive results. In either case, our civilization would be obliterated.
Thus, we must prepare ourselves for the possibility of an Armageddon situation from space. Which we have no control over, rather than a nuclear exchange, we have thought for so long would be our demise.