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Re: Millions of comets coming--Yeah? Where are they?

At 09:21 AM 9/16/99 -0500, Louis wrote:
>My overall reaction to the current spate of comet- and asteroid-impact
>hysteria is that it is mostly just that--hysteria and hyperbole!  The
>"Discovering Archaeology" piece--finding comets and asteroids at every bend
>and twist of history--is a real stretch of an overactive imagination!

   Absolutely. The media overblows things (what else is new?!), that and the
few asteroid/comet movies of recent release. The UFO believing crowd and
prophesy folks are claiming somethings coming and "we're not being told the
truth!". 
So that deosn't help either. As an amateur astronomer I try to help squash
such nonsense when it comes up.     

>Oh, sure, mass extinctions happen--some (but certainly NOT all) caused by
>ET means.  But all this media hype still doesn't help the public's
>understanding of the dynamics of the Earth-Moon system, the rarity of
>planet-threatening impacts, and the many influences on extinction events. 
>But fueling the fear does keep a few astronomers employed as Chicken
>Littles.  (My opinion.)

  The majority of astronomers I would think also try to squash such
nonsense, at least I would hope so. 

Regards,
Tom Randall
(who's getting hit by Floyd's REALLY heavy rains and winds as he types, it's
a real miss here in southern N.Y.)


 

>

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