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 BBS: The Matrix BBS
Date: 03-29-98 (08:00)             Number: 195
From: JACK SARGEANT                Refer#: NONE
  To: ALL                           Recvd: NO
Subj: 7                     4/5      Conf: (195) UFO
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By Mark Dowdney
Foreign Editor
A mile-wide asteroid could be on a collision course with Earth -
threatening to wipe out civilisation 30 years from now, scientists
revealed yesterday.
The impact, at more than 17,000mph, would cause an explosion
equivalent to two million Hiroshima sized bombs.
These would be the consequences of the space-rock catastrophe
"timetabled" by astronomers to possible happen in 2028:
HUGE Earthquakes would be triggered and the blast heat would cause
volcano-like meltdown.
DUST clouds would blot out the sun, plunging the earth into a
prolonged cosmic winter.
MILLIONS would die in a total collapse of society.
The exact arrival time of asteroid Armageddon is calculated at
6.30pm on October 26th, 2028.
And British scientist Dr Benny Peiser said yesterday: "It would not
necessarily mean the end of mankind, but it would wipe out
civilisation as we know it.
"We would regress to the level of the Dark Ages. All the trappings
of modern life would be totally gone."
The danger was detected three months ago by astronomers at the
University of Arizona in America.
They run a spacewatch programme to spot and plot the course of
objects which might threaten Earth.
Codenamed 1997 XFII, the mega-menace was added to the list of 108
asteroids - small planets orbiting the sun - which are considered
"potentially hazardous".
Early calculations produced a "miss distance" from Earth for XFII of
500,000 miles...which sounds a long way, but is less than any other
previous prediction for an asteroid.
Further observation suggested an approach to within 30,000 miles of
Earth. Now the International Astronomical Union is warning:
"There's a small chance, not entirely out of the question, of an
actual collision."
US asteroid specialist Jack Hills said: "This is the most dangerous
one we have found so far. It scares me. It really does."
If it landed at sea - in the Atlantic, for example - the coasts of
America and Europe would be devastated by monster tidal waves.
Dr Hills said: "Where cities stood, there would be only mudflats."
On land, the explosion would leave a crater more than 10 miles
across. Everything for hundreds of miles around would be destroyed.
At present the XFII asteroid is seen by observers as a pinprick of
light among many others. It's size is estimated from the amount of
sunlight reflected from it.
It will move out of view of all but the largest telescopes over the
next few months. Only by the year 2002, will astronomers be able to
asses the risk accurately.
British scientist Dr Peiser, an anthropologist at Liverpool's John
Moores University, has made a special study of asteroid impacts.
He starkly spelled out the Armageddon scenario: "The effect of a one
mile-wide object hitting the Earth would be catastrophic on a global
scale.
"There would be a complete collapse of society and the abandonment
of agricultural settlements."
There is one ray of hope - a space mission could be launched to
deflect the asteroid.
Blowing it up would only produce a shower of fragments, which could
themselves present a danger.
The odds on a collision are put at 1,000-1. But seasoned punters
were last night wondering if either they or the bookies would still
be left standing for any payout...
ROCKS from space have been hitting the Earth for millions of years,
ranging from pebble-sized meteorites to asteroids up to 10 miles
wide.
ONE of the latter is believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs 65
million years ago.
TWENTY-three meteorites are known to have hit Britain since 1623.
The largest, weighing about 46 kilos, broke up before impact at
Barwell, Leics in 1965.
THE biggest rock this century hit Siberia in 1908 killing 1,000
miles of forest. The blast was heard 600 miles away.
[W 10]******
Source: UFO Magazine (UK)
Publish date: March/April 1998
url: http://www.ufomag.co.uk/
From: duncan@life.com
(information taken from a full and very informative report)
The biggest UFO conference in history took place in the capital city
of Brasilia between 7 - 14 December 1997. UFO Magazine was present
throughout to cover proceedings of this momentous event.
'Graham W. Birdsall'
History in the offing?
Among the most intriguing comments to be made at the Forum, were
those uttered by Russian Cosmonaut Alexandr Balandine, who spent six
months aboard the Mir space station.
He had travelled to Brazil with his fellow countryman and UFO
researcher, Boris Chourinov. I noticed that Alexandr delivered his
speech from prepared text, which came as no great surprise.
Alexandr had already made numerous visits to and from the Russian
Embassy, always collected and returned in a diplomatic vehicle.
Some of my fellow researchers didn't think this strange:
"After all," they argued, "it isn't everyday that a Cosmonaut comes
to town.. perhaps he is being feted by embassy staff."
Possibly so, but one can be quite certain that that his speech will
have been vetted, making what he had to say in public all the more
remarkable.
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 * SLMR 2.1a * You are a redneck if your speakers came from the drive-in
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