Not So Friendly Skies!

[Sukerkin]

We've known in a general sort of way that, one day, we need to get our act together as a species when it comes to dealing with asteroid impact threats ... it seems maybe we should get on with it as we've just been lucky so far!

BBC News - Asteroid impact risks 'underappreciated'

 

[arnisador]

This one has me worried. Tax me more and work on asteroid defense!

 

[K-man]

Reality check. My maximum remaining life expectancy .. 40 years. Frequency of major asteroid hits .. one per hundred years. Therefore chance of one arriving in the next 40 years, 0.4%.

Surface area of the Earth .. 510,072,000 km². Assuming devastation of big a big asteroid to be 100 km², chance of it landing around here one in 50 million, so that takes the odds out beyond one in 100 million.

In perspective:
chance of being struck by lightning one in 1M

Now for the US

National Safety Council Odds of Dying in the U.S.
Type of Accident or Manner of Injury Deaths in 2004 Odds of Death in Any Given Year Odds of Death in Lifetime
All - All External Causes of Mortality 167,184 1,756 to 1 23 to 1
Assault - All 17,357 16,919 to 1 217 to 1
Assault - Firearm 11,624 25,263 to 1 324 to 1
Intentional Self Harm 32,439 9,053 to 1 116 to 1
Legal Intervention - All 372 789,400 to 1 10,134 to 1
Legal Intervention - Execution 52 5,647,247 to 1 72,494 to 1
Legal Intervention - Involving Firearm Discharge 311 944,324 to 1 12,121 to 1
Medical and Surgical Care Complications 2,883 101,858 to 1 1,308 to 1
Operations of War - All 28 10,487,744 to 1 134,631 to 1
Transport Accidents - All 47,385 6,197 to 1 80 to 1
Transport Accidents - Motor Vehicle 44,933 6,535 to 1 84 to 1
Unintentional - Alcohol Poisoning. 358 820,271 to 1 10,530 to 1
Unintentional - Bitten or Struck by a Dog 27 10,876,179 to 1 139,617 to 1
Unintentional - Cataclysmic Storm. 63 4,661,220 to 1 59,836 to 1
Unintentional - Contact with Venomous
Snakes and Lizards 6 48,942,807 to 1 628,277 to 1
Etc.
Odds of Dying

For those old enough to remember Mad Magazine .. What, me worry?
:asian:

Edit. Sorry, all my figures compressed

 

[Transk53]

Reality check. My maximum remaining life expectancy .. 40 years. Frequency of major asteroid hits .. one per hundred years. Therefore chance of one arriving in the next 40 years, 0.4%.

Surface area of the Earth .. 510,072,000 km². Assuming devastation of big a big asteroid to be 100 km², chance of it landing around here one in 50 million, so that takes the odds out beyond one in 100 million.

In perspective:
chance of being struck by lightning one in 1M

Now for the US


For those old enough to remember Mad Magazine .. What, me worry?
:asian:

Edit. Sorry, all my figures compressed

I remember Mad. What do they call it, Extinction Level Event or something like that. Okay so there will be a tangible threat somewhere out in deep space,. or on the periphery of our solar system, but I would like to think human science will negate such things eventually.