Apocalypse Soon? Scientists Claim Comet Spotting Program Cut Could Endanger Us All

A comet-spotting program cut in Australia could lead to the Apocalypse soon, scientists warn. A recent sighting of Siding Spring, which has passed close to Mars, could potentially be heading our way.

The comet passed Mars’ much thinner atmosphere yesterday, 87,000 miles from the surface at around 126,000 mph. The comet’s tail didn’t hit the Mars Rover or any of the observation equipment, and precautions are being made to keep satellites and such out of its path as it is predicted to at least pass close to Earth. The comet, named for the Australian observatory which discovered it, is believed to have originated from the Ort Cloud, just beyond Neptune’s orbit, close to a million years ago.

The reason it could be a problem and lead to a potential Apocalypse soon is that the tail may have picked up some debris from the surface of Mars, causing a possible meteor shower. While Siding Spring itself is about as hard as a pile of talcum powder, according to ABC news, the meteor shower could impact Earth’s atmosphere and cause serious damage.

Siding Spring, the observatory which was keeping an eye on the comet, has lost its funding, so now we are being left vulnerable to a massive blind spot. A similar meteor shower impacted Russia last year after a 65 ft meteor breached Earth’s atmosphere and exploded, injuring over 1,000 people.

Due to the closure of the observatory in Australia, Bradley Tucker, an astronomer at the Australian National University and University of California Berkeley, believes we could face another celestial assault and we won’t see it coming.

“It’s a real worry. There could be something hurtling towards us right now and we wouldn’t know about it.

“It’s essentially like a nuclear bomb going off in the atmosphere. These things can do inconceivable damage.”

Are we blindingly heading into an Apocalypse soon because of the closing of the Siding Spring observatory? If so, scientists claim, it will hit the southern hemisphere, which now has no way of knowing.

They claim it could be much like the meteor which hit Earth 65 million years ago and wiped out the dinosaurs. Tucker sees the potential for Siding Spring or some meteor hitting Earth’s southern hemisphere as a major issue.

“The idea needs to switch from thinking of this as scientific research … to seeing it as something no different to tracking cyclones

“It’s about getting people out of harm’s way, [minimizing] damage. And it shouldn’t be seen as one country’s problem. It’s a global problem.”

Do you think the cut in funding for Australian comet-spotting program could lead to an Apocalypse soon?

[Image via The U.K. Times]