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TURKMENS WANT TO NAME METEORITE AFTER LEADER
Reuters
28-JUN-98
ASHGABAT, June 28 (Reuters) - Scientists in Turkmenistan have asked
President Saparmurat Niyazov, focus of a flourishing personality cult=20
in the former Soviet state, to give his name to a large meteorite,
an official newspaper said on Sunday.=20
The Neitralny Turkmenistan daily, quoting the official Turkmen Press=20
news agency, said a large conic meteorite weighing some 300 kg (670=20
lbs) had landed in northern Turkmenistan on June 20.=20
"Noting the fact that the meteorite fell onto Turkmen land on the eve=20
of the sixth anniversary of Saparmurat Niyazov's election as president,
scientists have asked the head of state to name the celestial body=20
Turkmenbashi," it said.=20
Turkmenbashi (Head of the Turkmen) is the official title of Niyazov,=20
the Central Asian republic's leader since Soviet times who was elected
president on June 21, 1992. The official media said that more than 90=20
percent of voters had chosen Niyazov. There were no other candidates=20
running for president.=20
Towns, villages, military units, factories and a sea gulf in the desert=20
state of four million people have already been named after Turkmenbashi,
whose portraits or statues can be seen on nearly every street corner=20
throughout the country.=20
The request to confer Niyazov's name on a meteorite appears to be the=20
first of its kind (sic).=20
Copyright 1998, Reuters/CNN
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(4) IMPACTS OF ASTEROIDS AND COMETS ARE INEVITABLE=20
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The Cosmic Threat to Civilisation is real and should no longer be=20
played down, writes Benny J Peiser=20
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From: EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, June 1998
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90 years ago, on 30 June 1908, an erratic rock from space=20
measuring c. 60 meters and travelling at nearly 40,000 miles an=20
hour entered the earth=92s atmosphere. At about 7:15am local time,=20
the extraterrestrial visitor exploded some five miles over the=20
Central Siberian Plateau near the Tunguska river. The cosmic=20
disaster that followed was awesome. Impacting in the atmosphere,=20
the explosion yielded the energy of some 40 megatons of TNT.=20
Within seconds, 2000 square kilometres of forest were flattened,=20
1000 square kilometres of trees stood in flames.=20
=20
90 years after the Tunguska-event, on March 12th 1998, the world=20
awoke to the news that an asteroid, measuring c. 1500 meters in=20
diameter and called 1997 XF11, was found to be in an orbit that=20
would bring it uncomfortably close to Earth in about 30 years=20
time. For 24 hours, millions of people around the world were glued=20
to their radios and TV sets to listen to a news item which,=20
everyone had realised, effected the entire human race.=20
=20
During the long history of our planet, the Earth has been hit by=20
giant asteroids and comets many thousands of times. Only four=20
years ago, in July 1994, comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed into=20
Jupiter. Civilisation wouldn=92t have survived had the 20 odd pieces=20
of this comet collided with Earth rather than Jupiter. Current=20
estimates suggest that every 500,000 years or so Near-Earth=20
Objects (NEOs) the size of 1997 XF11 impacts one of the Earth=92s=20
oceans or the surface of one of the continents. But NEOs in the=20
kilometre range collide with our world every 100,000 years, whilst=20
Tunguska-sized objects hit our planet every one hundred years or=20
so.=20
=20
Cosmic disasters have punctuated life on Earth repeatedly. Only=20
during the last twenty years, we have become aware of our=20
precarious place in space. We now know that impact catastrophe=20
have caused the extinction of more than 90% of all species which=20
ever lived on Earth. Many thousands of times, such=20
extraterrestrial calamities have devastated and overwhelmed the=20
Earth=92s environmental. There is growing scientific evidence that=20
more recent impact events may have lead to widespread=20
environmental disasters causing the collapse of mankind=92s first=20
civilisations some 4000 years ago.
=20
If asteroid 1997 XF 11 were to collide with Earth, it would lead=20
to the breakdown of societies around the globe. The environmental=20
effects of such a catastrophe would be horrendous. It would not=20
mean the end of mankind, but it would wipe out civilisation as we=20
know it. We would regress to the level of the dark Ages. If it hit=20
dry land, the subsequent earthquakes all around the world would in=20
turn set off volcanoes. These would pour their own contribution=20
into this cloud of ash, smoke, dust and smog. As enormous amounts=20
of dust were sent into the stratosphere, the sun would be blocked=20
out for months. The failure of a single year=92s harvest,=20
world-wide, would mean that millions, perhaps billions, would=20
starve to death.
=20
Fortunately, on March 13th, US American astronomers gave the=20
all-clear: Awoken by the announcement, two scientists discovered=20
astronomical films taken of the same object in 1990 which=20
indicated that asteroid XF11 would miss us by some 600,000 miles=20
in the year 2028. Thanks to the fortuitous find, the biggest=20
cosmic crisis in mankind=92s short history could be thwarted.=20
=20
During this period of global uncertainty, the British Government=20
displayed a creepy silence. While the nation had to rely on the=20
official media response by the White House in Washington,=20
Government departments and emergency agencies in the UK were
caught off-guard. From one day to another, emergency planners and=20
crisis managers were faced with a potential planetary threat they=20
had hardly heard of let alone dealt with. The reason for the=20
rather embarrassing paralysis of the British Government is simple=20
to explain: the United Kingdom does not, at present, have any=20
relevant expertise or policy with regard to the threat due to=20
Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). Nor does it fund NEO research, although=20
Britain has extensive resources which are eminently suitable to=20
contribute to international NEO research.
=20
During the scare, all the Government was able to do was to bury=20
their head in the sand. In fact, it took almost two weeks before=20
the Government issued a statement in response to questions raised=20
by the Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik. In a rather trivial answer=20
on March 23rd in the House of Commons, John Battle, the Science &=20
Technology Minister, claimed that the UK emergency services and=20
the emergency planning community in the UK were fully prepare for=20
a (global) impact catastrophe posed by asteroids similar to XF11=20
and =93would respond if the need arose.=94 Ignoring the main research=20
findings of a number of eminent UK scientists, John Battle=20
concluded by announcing his belief that =93the probability of a=20
major impact is extremely low.=94 =20
=20
Regrettably, this statement is rather meaningless if not=20
misleading. It seems more than doubtful whether UK emergency=20
agencies are prepared for the event of a global impact=20
catastrophe, let alone whether they have ever thought about=20
contingency plans for such an event. More importantly, though, is=20
the fact that impact disasters with global environmental effects=20
occur rather frequently. Some of Britain=92s leading astronomers=20
believe that Super-Tunguskas, i.e. multi-megaton showers of=20
cometary debris, occur every 3000 to 5000 years. From a human=20
perspective, this may sound a rather long time. The problem is, we=20
don=92t know when the last major impact disaster occurred. And no=20
one knows when the next is going to hit us.
=20
As a traditional world leader in science and technology, Britain=20
has a duty to itself and the rest of the world to support efforts=20
to prevent such catastrophes. All it needs is for the Government=20
to start taking the threat seriously. We were fortunate to escape=20
a collision with asteroid 1997 XF11. But many thousand similar=20
objects are out there and awaiting discovery. Next time we might=20
not be so lucky.
=20
The question thus remains: whether there is intelligent life on=20
Earth? Since science tells us that impacts of asteroids and comets=20
are inevitable and just a question of time, what are we doing with=20
our new-found awareness? The dinosaurs became extinct because they=20
did not have a system of planetary defence. =93We will deserve to=20
become extinct,=94 Sir Arthur c Clarke emphasises, =93if we don=92t have=20
one.=94
=20
Benny J Peiser is a social anthropologist at Liverpool John=20
Moores University and a member of Spaceguard UK.=20
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Copyright 1998, Emergency Management
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(5) MORE ON THE AD 536 EVENT
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