New York Times-style
Woohoo! Check out the Op-Ed discussion page for the New York Times page online — it contains a number of astronomy luminaries, including yours truly, discussing the lure of rocks from outer space! This all follows on the heels of world-wide interest in the quick flyby of near-Earth asteroid 2009 DD45 earlier this week. What surprised me was that the media reaction was not what it had been in the past — breathless hype about how we’re under bombardment from space. It was largely measured and analytical, and included some cute headlines joking around about ‘Roid Rage (as in “‘Roid Rages Past Earth”). The best views of it came from this video, provided by an observer in Canberra, Australia. (You have to watch it for a little bit to catch the motion of the asteroid across the sky.)
Truth is, as I write in my entry, asteroids grab our attention, especially when they get close to the planet. For scientists, they’re the chance to study the leftovers of solar system creation, no matter where they are in the solar system. So, head over and read the NYT discussion. It was fun to participate in and I thank the editors of the Times for asking me to join in the discussion! And, for you readers coming over to visit my page from the Times — welcome to my humble blog!
Congrats!
Congratulatins on joining the Big Leagues
Neat video. I too was surprised that the media didn’t make more gloom and doom out of this.
Thanks Mom!
Brat: I think that the media folk have figured out that there’s no percentage in yelling “the sky is falling” each time an asteroid is discovered — many folks wait to see what the orbit is going to do. That being said, I’m there were some reporters who hyped it up. I just didn’t see their work. 😉