That’s one Sept. 24 down, just 156 to go until it’s lights out for Earth.
Sure, I hear you jeering: “Looks like Dr. Venob’s already in his cups - and this early on a Sunday morning, for Pete’s sake! The guy’s already an ancient, drooling geezer. Doesn’t he realize that even someone born today, Sept. 27, 2026, will be long in the grave by Sept. 24, 2182?”
Not necessarily. Given today’s rapid advancements in medical science, anything’s possible. Why, I’ll only be 235 by then. That may merely put me in “middle-age” territory.
Don’t take my word for it. None other than the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been aware of this impending date for nearly a decade. NASA’s wizards have been working with the Institute for Basic Science’s Center
for Climate Physics in South Korea to avoid total annihilation or at least mitigate the damages.
According to a story I read in the London (England, not Kentucky) Daily Express newspaper, the problem is with an asteroid named Bennu that is racing through outer space at bazillions of miles per hour.
For some reason, Bennu seems to like Mother Earth. So much so that it approaches us every six years, then arcs away. A Star Wars game of chicken, perhaps?
If all these scientists have their calculators, computers, slide rules, dice, trick knees, Solonar Tables and Ouija Boards in 100 percent synch, Bennu’s going to smash into Earth on 9/24/2182. With the force of 22 atomic bombs, give or take the odd “ka-pow” or “ba-boom.”
And then?
I quote directly from what Korean scientist Lan Dai at the IBSC in Pusan told the Daily Express: “The most severe outcome predicted involves Bennu injecting an estimated 400 million tons of dust into the atmosphere.” (Dr. Venob’s advice: Save all those face masks from your Covid kit.)
“Ozone levels would plummet by 32 percent, greatly diminishing the planet’s protection from space radiation. Plant photosynthesis would also suffer a major decline, expected to fall by 20-30 percent.” (Dr. Venob again: “What a perfect time to go on a diet!”)
But don’t go off half-cocked and do something stupid like canceling your UT football and basketball season tickets after the 2181 campaigns. Let me stress there is no reason to panic. Listen to the calming words of Lan Dai:
“On average, Bennu-sized asteroids strike Earth about every 100,000 to 200,000 years. Since many impact structures have not been found or have disappeared due to geological processes, it is difficult to confirm the impacts of Bennu-sized asteroids on Earth’s history.”
Dr. Venob’s translation: “Beats the hell out of us.”
Sam Venable’s column appears every Sunday. Contact him at sam.venable@outlook.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Counting the years until Our Favorite Planet goes kaput | Sam Venable
