Comments on: NASA predicts April 13, 2036 as very good day to buy lottery tickets

By: sarjeet singh

sarjeet singh — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:02:49 +0000

plz call my name is sarjeet i m indian n i like nasa and i love space my problm is my english is week so plz contackt me my nomber is 9213512082 in india i m verry tilented in space plz i m wating thanks

By: Eric S.

Eric S. — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:30:26 +0000

Hi, Vinny, and thanks for stopping by. My apologies for sowing doubt; I thought the two links in the last paragraph — and the fact that very few of the Earth’s 40,000 artificial satellites orbit further up than ~2,000 km — pretty well put the sensationalism of spacedaily.com’s story to bed. That said, I have to admit to not having the Physics prowess to determine the change in vector a 1-ton satellite might have on a 22,000,000,000-ton asteroid. If you’re willing, could you show me the math? I haven’t had any luck tracking down the specifics of 13-year-old German student’s calculations.

By: Vinny

Vinny — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:53:12 +0000

Clearly your stink-o-meter did not take physics in a zero gravity environment into consideration. I can see your skepticism if you are thinking things in relation to earth’s gravity (which you clearly were when you threw out the weight numbers of a satellite vs. Apophis.) In space it’s a totally different ballgame. An object the size of a golf ball can punch a 4 foot hole into the side of an object like a space shuttle, so the simple fact that a satellite can alter the course of a multi-ton object like Apophis is actually quite feasible. All that said, I understand your reason for not taking NASA’s report seriously. I mean some of the smartest people in the world being outdone by a 13-year old is quite sad, but at the same time check the physics before sowing doubt.

By: Lightning-struck Michiganer wins lottery « Into All That

Lightning-struck Michiganer wins lottery « Into All That — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:01:05 +0000

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