(meteorobs) Military Hush-Up: Incoming Space RocksNow Classified

[Marco Langbroek]

Larry,

Your comment misses the point completely. This is not about NEO detection, i.e. 
"future impact threaths" (this is what you seem to think). It is about fireball 
detection, i.e. objects that actually already enter the atmosphere. So your 
whole comment:

 > Envision what would happen if everyone thought their final end would come in
 > 10 years, 1 year, 1 month, or 7 days..... You wouldn't even recognize the
 > world you once knew.
 >
 > Proper control of this information is necessary to allow time to seek
 > solutions before everyone goes ballistic with fear. And that fear might just
 > turn out to be groundless!

....is irrelevant.

Satellite detection of fireballs allowed scientists to get quite accurate 
estimates of energy release, and sometimes also atmospheric trajectory, of 
fireballs. It also provided relevant statistics about the influx of larger 
meteoroids.

- Marco


Larry schreef:
> No, it is not.
> 
> We have two articles from sources that are likely popular in local 
> out-houses which have taken concerns out of context and Chapman was made a 
> patsy in this because of his language brevity.
> 
> (Quote)
> "I think that this information is very important to make public," Chapman 
> told SPACE.com.
> "More important than the scientific value, I think, is that these rare, 
> bright fireballs provide a link in public understanding to the asteroid 
> impact hazard posed by still larger and less frequent asteroids," Chapman 
> explained.
> 
> Those objects are witnessed by unsuspecting people in far-flung places, 
> Chapman said, often generating incorrect and exaggerated 
> reports....(Unquote)
> 
> What Chapman should have added is......
> 
> "The Military & Homeland Security is justified in preventing official 
> releases of information, especially unconfirmed preliminary releases, of 
> Space objects posing a SERIOUS future hazard to any country including our 
> own. This should be done to prevent PREMATURE widespread panic". But no one 
> mentions this......doesn't sell tabloids!
> 
> Now back to a more practicle approach and the reasons for it........
> 
> Envision what would happen if everyone thought their final end would come in 
> 10 years, 1 year, 1 month, or 7 days..... You wouldn't even recognize the 
> world you once knew.
> 
> Proper control of this information is necessary to allow time to seek 
> solutions before everyone goes ballistic with fear. And that fear might just 
> turn out to be groundless!
> 
> Confirmed deadly impacts, (planet killers), with no hope of solution should 
> NEVER be made public. There is no humanitarian reason to disclose it to the 
> public.
> 
> YCSentinel
> (Q-Clearance downgraded to Trivia level 3.)
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Ed Majden" <epmajden at shaw.ca>
> To: "Global Meteor Observing Forum" <meteorobs at meteorobs.org>
> Cc: <bolidechaser at yahoo.com>
> Sent: 2009/06/10 16:52
> Subject: (meteorobs) Fwd: [RASCals] Military Hush-Up: Incoming Space 
> RocksNow Classified
> 
> 
>>
>> Begin forwarded message:
>>
>>> From: Ed Majden <epmajden at shaw.ca>
>>> Date: June 10, 2009 4:43:32 PM PDT
>>> To: RASCals Discussion List
>>> Cc: MIAC List
>>> Subject: Re: [RASCals] Military Hush-Up: Incoming Space Rocks Now
>>> Classified
>>> Reply-To: RASCals Discussion List
>>>
>>> Is this what the Yanks call Homeland Security and Military
>>> Intelligence???? ;-)
>>> Ed Majden
>>>
>>>
>>> On 10-Jun-09, at 4:31 PM, Kevin Fetter wrote:
>>>
>>>> http://www.space.com/news/090610-military-fireballs.html
>>>>
>>>> Kevin
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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> 
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