Space experts were poised to warn us that a deadly giant asteroid was about to threaten Earth. In scenes eerily reminiscent of Hollywood blockbuster Armageddon, it was feared the cosmic rock would come within a whisker of terra firma. Even astronomer Sir Patrick Moore sought to calm nerves with a 'don't panic' message. But US scientists were left redfaced when their gloomy predictions were scotched. A sharp-eyed Russian tracked the trajectory of the 'asteroid'... and discovered it was a comet-chasing European space probe, named Rosetta. The panic was sparked last week by America's Minor Planet Center, which tracks unidentified, Earth-threatening objects. It prepared an emergency e-mail warning that the alien lump would skim Earth by 5,600km (3,500 miles) – the distance from London to New York and a very close nearmiss in astronomical terms. But Moscow-based scientist Denis Denisenko realised the mysterious mass was Rosetta, the European Space Agency probe launched in 2004 on a ten-year mission to chase a comet. Sir Patrick said: 'It certainly wasn't an asteroid. And the last comet to hit us was about 65million years ago, when the theory is it wiped out the dinosaurs.

Finally, the Americans released a memo calling off the alert. Rosetta, about the size of a Transit van and with a 32-metre (104ft) wing span, is due to orbit close to Earth tomorrow to get a gravity boost so it can be catapulted towards the comet Churyumov Gerasimenko. The space agency hopes that, once Rosetta has caught up with the comet, it will be able to land on it to collect data.

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DOH.....:laugh:

Space experts my ass....

They're idiots, seriously.

fen...we are doomed....the person that wanted to send the alert is bound to be the next head of NASA.....:laugh:

but then we are going to get nailed sooner or later.,....

I love this, what more can you say - thats why im not a space expert

Well, I am studying to become a space expert, and, in particular, in the area of astrodynamics to which this story pertains. However, what is it that they did wrong? They realized that the event was going to be a near miss and not an impact. However, an amateur might be concerned should he observe it and not have the resources to calculate as precisely whether it will hit or miss. As to its identification, it is a matter of being aware of a certain fact, namely, the trajectory of Rosetta. In fact, one expert did realize what it was, and told them.

Meanwhile, to demonstrate how smart you are in comparison, perhaps one person could answer the most elementary question of what is the orbital period of a 500 kg satellite in a circular equatorial orbit about the earth at an altitude of 500 miles?

Xeno posts: Space experts my ass.... They're idiots, seriously.

I guess it could ‘appear’ that way to some.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say they are idiots though… They saw an anomaly and presented their findings.

The findings were assessed by the scientific community and found to be what it is…

Sounds like the way of science. See an anomaly and try to figure out what it is… ~rore