Asteroid Misses Earth, Meteor Doesn’t

All scientific eyes were on Asteroid 2012 DA14 yesterday as it whizzed towards our planet at 17,500 MPH. Astronomers and space enthusiasts trembled in anticipation Friday morning, eager to watch the 190,000 metric ton space rock squeak by Earth later in the afternoon. Moms were up early making munchies for asteroid-watching parties when WHAM!  A 10-ton meteor exploded into flames over Russia! The shock waves broke windows all over the Chelyabinsk region, and hundreds of people were injured by flying glass.

So now there are thousands of broken windows in the middle of Russia in the middle of February. Of course, if the asteroid hit instead of the meteor there wouldn’t be anyone left to complain about the cold.

Space Aliens on Meteorites!

Space aliens invade Earth, riding on meteorites! They’re bugs! Microscopic bugs!

Or … maybe not:

“Has Evidence for Alien Life Been Found?” Ian O’Neill, Discovery News

“Bacteria….FROM OUTER SPACE,” Science vs. Pseudoscience

“Has life been found in a meteorite?” Phil Plait, Bad Astronomy

 “NASA Scientist Says He Sees Alien Fossils in Meteorite,” Dan Satterfield, AGU Blogosphere

“Bugs From Space? Forget It,” Richard A. Kerr, ScienceInsider

“Aliens Riding Meteorites: Arsenic Redux or Something New?” David Dobbs, Neuron Culture

 

Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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