[EvaH (OP)]

David asks:

If you became aware that a significant-sized asteroid was likely to collide with the Earth in the not-too-distant future (say months rather than years) would you tell your colleagues or tell government officials or tell the world? Or would you just sell the family home and have a great holiday (assuming post Covid-19 conditions)?

What would you do?

[Zer0]

No!
👍
& Please Do Not Worry bout APOPHIS atall 0kay!
🙃

P.S. - Some day or some night, or somewhere inbetween...We All shall Die!
🙏
How We Die wouldn't be of No Importance, death afterall is Death!
But rather how We Lived...is All that would Matter...or perhaps even that won't.
🖖

[charles1948]

David asks:

If you became aware that a significant-sized asteroid was likely to collide with the Earth in the not-too-distant future (say months rather than years) would you tell your colleagues or tell government officials or tell the world? Or would you just sell the family home and have a great holiday (assuming post Covid-19 conditions)?

What would you do?

I would post it on the "Naked Scientists" forum. 

[evan_au]

I would post it here: https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/ca/

Oh, they already do....

[Petrochemicals]

Why, what do you know?

[Zer0]

🙄
@Petrochemicals

lol
🤭

Perhaps We will have to find out Who David is...then track & follow n see if David is selling the Family Mansion for peanuts & booking first class tickets n reserving a fine dine retreat in the Carribeans or Hawaii.
😆

P.S. - Let's look at the Bright side of all this...Soo many folks will get to go to Heaven in an Instant.
(rough ride, yep i agree)
Then Njoy heavenly food n blissful wine n merry angels...
😇
(Not sure wat v wud do wit all dos heavenly goodies considering We wud b leaving behind our physical bodies on a scorching planet thou)
🤭

[Boy-from-oz]

David asks:

If you became aware that a significant-sized asteroid was likely to collide with the Earth in the not-too-distant future (say months rather than years) would you tell your colleagues or tell government officials or tell the world? Or would you just sell the family home and have a great holiday (assuming post Covid-19 conditions)?

What would you do?

How would the populace-in-general 'react' to such news if it was broadcast?

[alancalverd]

USA: 50% disbelief, 50% prayer
ENG: grumbling resignation and buy toilet paper
AUS: cool some tinnies and watch the show
FRA: blame the English and set fire to a tractor
SCO: blame the English and demand a referendum
WAL: blame the English and write a mournful song
IRL:  blame the protestants/catholics au choix
RUS: "not again, surely?"
CHN: make plans to mine the collision site. Ice, carbon or iron, it's free feedstock 

[charles1948]

USA: 50% disbelief, 50% prayer
ENG: grumbling resignation and buy toilet paper
AUS: cool some tinnies and watch the show
FRA: blame the English and set fire to a tractor
SCO: blame the English and demand a referendum
WAL: blame the English and write a mournful song
IRL:  blame the protestants/catholics au choix
RUS: "not again, surely?"
CHN: make plans to mine the collision site. Ice, carbon or iron, it's free feedstock

Superb post, Alan.  It made me smile at the way your pithy humour, conveys truth in an OK way.

[Petrochemicals]

USA: 50% disbelief, 50% prayer
ENG: grumbling resignation and buy toilet paper
AUS: cool some tinnies and watch the show
FRA: blame the English and set fire to a tractor
SCO: blame the English and demand a referendum
WAL: blame the English and write a mournful song
IRL:  blame the protestants/catholics au choix
RUS: "not again, surely?"
CHN: make plans to mine the collision site. Ice, carbon or iron, it's free feedstock

Superb post, Alan.  It made me smile at the way your pithy humour, conveys truth in an OK way.

You do realise the forum rules state you are only supposed to have 1 account?

[syhprum]

I wonder what explanation the few American survivors would have for jesus not protecting the rest

[alancalverd]

We have a precedent. Last year PK8383 crashed and killed 97 people. Two survived, one of whom said "God protected us."

Presumably the others were sent to Paradise because they  didn't believe in it.

[Pseudoscience-is-malarkey]

David asks:

If you became aware that a significant-sized asteroid was likely to collide with the Earth in the not-too-distant future (say months rather than years) would you tell your colleagues or tell government officials or tell the world? Or would you just sell the family home and have a great holiday (assuming post Covid-19 conditions)?

What would you do?

Yes, because it is actually possible to stop them.

[charles1948]

If you told the government that an asteroid  was going to hit the Earth, wouldn't the government just build underground bunkers for top government officials to shelter in?

[alancalverd]

We already have them. AFAIK most of the Cold War bunkers are still useable. Interestingly, they may be more use in the case of a natural disaster because the survivors will not be faced with an occupying and rather grumpy enemy, just a big mess.

[Petrochemicals]

We already have them. AFAIK most of the Cold War bunkers are still useable. Interestingly, they may be more use in the case of a natural disaster because the survivors will not be faced with an occupying and rather grumpy enemy, just a big mess.

Do these protect against the neutron bomb?

[Colin2B]

Do these protect against the neutron bomb?

You don’t need a nuclear bunker to protect against neutron bomb. Most are short range because neutrons are absorbed and scattered by air. Even a concrete wall or floor will reduce exposure significantly, so a basement/cellar will offer protection unless you are up close and personal, in which case the blast will probably get you!

[CliffordK]

I would think that any prediction of an impact would also have to include a time of day and direction, from which one should be able to determine a likely hemisphere of the impact.

Although, that would depend on whether it is coming in on a tangent to Earth's orbit where there may be some variance in the calculation, or at a greater angle up to perpendicular where an hour could mean the difference between hitting and missing.

If one knows where it is going to hit, there could be significant preparations possible from moving refugees to ensuring a food supply for survivors (which may be somewhat contradictory goals).

And, of course, attempts to either move it, or shatter it. A shattered asteroid might have a larger debris field, but each fragment would likely be eroded more by atmospheric entry, and one would get may smaller impacts rather than one large impact.

Nonetheless, I'd vote for informing governments, and the people.

[charles1948]

Clifford's post#18 sums up the situation succinctly and admirably.  In answering the question - should governments tell the population about an incoming big asteroid strike.

Such a strike would have very different consequences for the total global population - depending on which side of the globe the asteroid struck.

If the asteroid struck the "Eastern" side - by which I mean, the side which consists almost entirely of the Pacific Ocean - the consequences wouldn't be too bad.  From a global perspective.

A 1km-wide asteroid plummeting into the deep waters of the Pacific would certainly create a huge oceanic convulsion

Which would spread out across the Eastern hemisphere, in the form of 300+ metre high tsunamis washing up against Australia and the south coasts of mainland Asia. And possibly South America.

However, the tsunamis would have little effect on the Western Hemisphere.  Which contains the main centres of civilisation - ie Europe and North America.. In these places, the population would not be greatly inconvenienced.

So I think European and North American politicians wouldn't mind telling their people about an asteroid which was going to hit the Pacific.

But if it was going to hit the North Atlantic, or even worse - come down on the land-mass of North America or Europe,
That would be quite a different story.  Then, wouldn't the politicians try to hide the truth from their people, about what was going to happen?

[Kryptid]

Such a strike would have very different consequences for the total global population - depending on which side of the globe the asteroid struck.

If the asteroid struck the "Eastern" side - by which I mean, the side which consists almost entirely of the Pacific Ocean - the consequences wouldn't be too bad.  From a global perspective.

That very much depends on the size of the asteroid. If it was as big as the one at Chicxulub, it wouldn't matter where it hit.