What the hell is going on out there? A warning for the future?

[Meldread]

Recently, we've discovered that Jupiter has been hit by something along with Saturn's F Ring. There is also something going on with Venus, which may or may not have been hit by something. That's three planets acting strangely.

What the hell is going on out there? ...and perhaps more importantly, why aren't we learning about these things -before- they happen? Knowing about them before would grant us the opportunity to view them as they take place (well... relative to the speed of light, of course). Not only that, it'd help us plan for the future should something like that happen to Earth.

The fact that we are not catching these things before they strike other planets, should that be a warning for our own future? I shudder to think of what would take place on this planet if we were struck by some type of debris of significant size to cause major damage. Last I heard the people out there tracking space debris (comets, asteroids, and the like) with the potential to strike Earth had fewer workers than one shift at McDonald's.

[kevinbgoode]

1. If something hit Earth, the last words from a Freeper would be:

"Those goddamned liberals. . ."... Haha..okay. I didn't know something had hit Saturn's rings...what happened there? And...what are they saying about Venus?

And yes, if you are right about what you are reporting, we aren't doing a good job of tracking space objects.

[jus_the_facts]

9. Here's my thread about Saturn....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=228&topic_id=54968&mesg_id=54968

There's a huge glowing spot on Venus...this site has a lot of information and links at the bottom of the page...

www.spaceweather.com

[Uben]

2. We track asteroids in earth's path.......

....but not necessarily the path of other planets. As you stated, we have relatively few people working on this, and to waste time tracking debris that will hit other planets wouldn't make sense with so few resources. So maybe that is the answer as to why we have avoided detection of these phenomena.

[Meldread]

8. That's most likely right.

However, that doesn't mean we shouldn't also be tracking things that hit other planets. If it hits a planet like Venus or Mars, studying it could definitely provide us with useful information on what would happen if the Earth was struck by a similar object.

I remember watching Shoemaker-Levy 9 strike Jupiter back in 1994. Everyone was shocked at how much damage it did to a planet the size of Jupiter and really woke people up to what could happen if the Earth was struck by a similar object.

The current spot on Jupiter is eerily similar to the impacts made by Shoemaker-Levy 9, and is about the size of the Pacific Ocean.

[Delphinus]

3. Yeah,

in surfing, although not backed up, I read that there was a bright spot on Venus. I had not heard anything about Saturn's rings.

Good question about why we don't know about it - are we still under the era of the boy king?

[comtec]

4. This should make the persid meteor shower going on more interesting

More of a sense of "will it hit?" with each 'shooting star' :)

[elocs]

5. Gee, one more thing to worry about that I am powerless to stop.

It just goes to show, it's always something.

[Aragorn]

6. warning?

Yea, we are all aware that something big could hit the earth without warning. We don't have the technology to identify it in time to do anything. Maybe we should pray?

[Meldread]

7. Pray for what? Jesus to move a giant rock that could end civilization as we know it?

I didn't realize he had hands that big... but you know what they say about gods with big hands, don't you. :P

Sorry, couldn't resist.

No, we have some very basic technology that could save the Earth if something is going to hit us. The key is finding it very early. If we find it something like a week out... then it's just a count down to our doom. The more time we have to prepare the better our chances.

That is why what is going on right now is disturbing.