NASA Asteroid Warning

Large Asteroid Packing 50 Megatons of Force Might Come Crashing Down on Earth in 2023 — and That’s Not All

A large asteroid could be headed toward us in the near future — barreling through space on a risk trajectory that might cause it to collide with Earth.

The news comes from the Express, which cites NASA sources revealing that the space rock could end up engaged in not one, but a staggering 62 different potential impact trajectories with our planet — each of them waiting to sling the asteroid toward Earth over the next 100 years.

Known as asteroid 2018 LF16, the space rock was last observed by our astronomers on June 16 — notes NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) — who calculated its orbit and its potential to become a threat to our planet. The calculations showed asteroid 2018 LF16 could collide with our planet on 62 different dates between now and 2117.

The first of these unnerving opportunities arises just five years from now — occurring on August 8, 2023. Other potential impact dates in the near future fall on August 3, 2024, and on August 1, 2025.

To make matters worse, the space rock is estimated to measure nearly 700 feet across and is currently hurtling through space at a speed of more than 33,844 miles per hour. This makes asteroid 2018 LF16 twice as large as the Statue-of-Liberty-sized space rock that skimmed past our planet earlier today, as reported by the .

“A space rock this big is about twice as tall as Big Ben’s clock tower in London, twice the height of the Statue of Liberty in New York, and is four times as tall as Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square,” states the Express.

However, this is not to say that the asteroid will slam into Earth with absolute certainty. In fact — per the British media outlet — NASA estimates that the asteroid has a one in 30 million chance of crashing into our planet. This translates into a 99.9999967 percent chance of a miss in the event that asteroid 2018 LF16 does come wandering too close to home.

This particular space rock ranks as a level “zero” threat on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale — meaning that its likelihood of a collision with Earth is nonexistent or close to nonexistent.

This is the same designation that “also applies to small objects, such as meteors, and bodies that burn up in the atmosphere — as well as infrequent meteorite falls that rarely cause damage,” explains the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

3D illustration of a swarm of asteroids entering Earth’s atmosphere. Oliver Denker / Shutterstock

Although NASA predictions show that asteroid 2018 LF16 has virtually zero chances of smashing into Earth, the space agency will continue to keep an eye on this formidable space rock.

An asteroid of this size headed directly for Earth would pack a tremendous impact force that could rival the 50-megaton blast produced by the detonation of the Tsar Bomba in 1961.

“That is more than 1,500 times that of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs combined, and 10 times more powerful than all the munitions expended during World War II,” writes the BBC.

ESA (CC BY-SA 3.0)

“The main challenge stems from the population of middle-size objects, ranging from tens to hundreds of meters in diameter,” shows the ESA.

These smaller asteroids can be found in greater numbers in our solar system and strike the Earth periodically — sometimes causing extensive damage. This was the case of the 60-foot asteroid that exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in 2013, injuring more than one thousand people and producing damage of millions of dollars.

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Surviving a Partial Collapse

Lets start by Categorizing Catastrophic Events to put them in perspective:

Level 10 - the entire planet earth is destroyed
Level  9 - 90% of the humans on planet earth are killed (Asteroid Strike)
Level  8 - 50% of the humans on planet earth are killed
Level  7 - 90% of the humans on a continent are killed (Nuclear Winter)
Level  6 - 50% of the humans on a continent are killed
Level  5 - 90% of the humans in a region are killed (EMP)
Level  4 - 50% of the humans in a region are killed
Level  3 - 10% of the humans in a region are killed
Level  2 -  5% of the humans in a region are killed
Level  1 - single digit % of the humans in a region are killed

An Asteroid Strike, Nuclear Winter,  EMP or a Solar Flare would likely cause a total collapse of our country civilization.  Such an event could be classified from Level 3 to Level 9, but a more likely scenario would be a temporary Partial Collapse that would be from an event in the Level 1 to Level 3 range and which might include things like:

1. Large scale natural like a Super Volcano
2. Man-made disaster or Terrorist Attack such as a small Iranian nuke in several US cities
3. A global economic recession and Hyper Inflation
4. Civil, political and religious unrest with Riots and Looting
5. A nation wide Pandemic <- Click on Links for more info

More common events like Winter Storms, Hurricanes, Floods and Power Outages can cause regional breakdowns, but help will soon be on the way.  These are Level 1 events.  Where the really serious problem starts is when the domestic "Help" is also incapacitated and won't be able to come.  This quickly escalates an event classification by one or more Levels.

Realistically, most Preppers can only afford to prepare for things in the Level 1 to Level 4 scale.  The preparations or these events are similar except for how long you need to prepare for, how much water and food you need and how much seed & land for longer term events. 

This is where our Step by Step Prepper Plan comes in handy. The more you follow the plan and repeat the cycle, the better prepared you are for longer and more serious events.  Once you get to the point where you have a 1 - 2 year supply of food, seed, tools for a Prepper Garden, Livestock and extra supplies to Barter then you are ready to start working on an underground shelter with Solar Power. There are a number of sources on this, and some group retreats have them included.  The more catastrophic Level 5 and higher events will likely require a substantial investment to survive underground.  Nuclear preparations are well documented and information is readily available and not expensive.  www.ki4u.com has lots of good nuclear info, products and links to even more.

Below is a picture showing the before (bottom) and after (top) effects of an 18 kilo tonne (kt) nuclear bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima Japan. The nuclear bomb sizes last published were 200,000 kt, or 11,000 times more powerful.  Likely nuclear targets for the US include Washington DC, Houston, New Orleans, New York, Chicago and Los Angles plus other large population centers.

 

The devastation is major but primarily on the surface.  Radioactive fall out is likely to kill just as many as the blast. 

After having your preps in order, getting to your retreat early is a key.  Recognizing the RED FLAG warnings that it is time to bug out is important.  Short term Level 1 events can be dealt with in the city, with a good Urban Plan.  Sustainable City Survival is possible if well prepared, but chances are lower than in the country.  Knowing what to expect in urban areas will help.  Country dwellers should expect to be swarmed with city gangs desperately seeking food and water. 

Once you are well stocked, you need a security plan to protect your supplies and loved ones.  Here are some links to read about security:

Night Vision vs Thermal Vision
Investing for Preppers (Financial Security)
The Best Gun
Best Handgun Selection Criteria

Group Security Drills
Urban Survival Perspective
Urban Survival Plan
The right amount of Ammo

Passive Layered Security
Communications
Actionable Intelligence
PVC Survival Tube

Using your garden for cover
Security Patrol Pack (or Bug Out pack)
Country Home Security Plan
Home Invasion Response Plan

Guns in plain sight
Situational Awareness
Intruder Detection
Riot Preparations

Double Barreled Defense
Modern Home Security
Sustainable City Survival
BB Gun

Top 5 Combat Rifles
Best Prepper Dog

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Nuclear Survival

Even a limited nuclear exchange would destroy everything for potentially hundreds of miles, sending up enough dust into the atmosphere to partially block the sun for years, causing drastically cooler conditions.  Earth could enter a man-made Ice Age or a Nuclear Winter which may be more severe than an Asteroid Impact Winter. The EMP from a nuclear exchange could destroy all electronics that are not shielded by a Faraday cage or metal enclosure. A solar flare could do the same.

Humans have survived an Ice Age before, but not during a time when our survival skills and preparations were so low.  The good news is that survival after a nuclear exchange is possible with a few preparations.

Such Preparations would fall in two categories:   

1) Surviving a 3-10 year winter, tidal waves, fire storms and acid rain.  Within 20 days, the global average temperature would drop from 58 degrees (F) Fahrenheit to 35 F, recovering about 10 degrees after a year or two.  By this time, 1/3 or more of the northern hemisphere (all of Canada and Northern US) would be covered year-round by snow.  The entire earth would experience freezing in the winter, and only the darkest red areas would not be frozen year-round.

 2) Surviving the "break out" after the sky clears, and the weather warms enough to begin life outside again.  The risk of unusually high ultraviolet exposure exists as the skies clear after being scorched. Disease from the fatalities decaying is a serious risk.

1) Surviving a 3-10 year winter

It could happen without any warning with only a matter of days to react.  So a high level of preparation and readiness is important. What should we prepare for?

• Living underground where the earths temperature is more constant may be required.  If not, a well-insulated shelter with a large supply of firewood, diesel or propane would be required making an "Event" like this, one of the most difficult to be prepared for.  Note that an underground shelter also protects from radiation as well as severe storms and cold.  See: Concrete Bunkers
• A ten year supply of long shelf life foods, water & warm clothing.  See the post:

Building your food stores the right way

Identifying nearby food warehouses, school cafeterias and other such places that feed large numbers might be a place to salvage food.  Animals that survive will likely be underground, underwater or able to withstand cold and eat grasses under the snow or bark and twigs of trees like goats, rabbits & deer.

• Green House to maintain your seed supply over such a long time and provide a small amount of food.
• Security plans with a large supply of Ammo to protect what you have. Here a few links:

                 Passive Layered Security

                 Urban Security

2)  Surviving the break out

Nothing would be worse than surviving the extended winter and then not being prepared to survive the new world.  Here is what you might need and some of this could be salvaged from hardware and farm supply stores.

• Extensive Farming and Ranching supplies, including seeds, plants, livestock, feed, tillers, seeders, garden tools like shovels, hoes, and rakes.  Chickens, dogs, goats, pigeons, and rabbits are good animals to have.
• Green House to grow foods year-round.
• Hand tools like saws, axes, drills, nails, water pumps & barrels.
• Farming and Ranching Skills
• Security is still important as it will be easy to let your guard down at this point and be caught unprepared.
• Reproductive age adults for human re-population.
• Substantial loss of land based animals; large bodies of water may be a key source of natural food supply.  
• Snow melting will cause flooding, even in normally dry places.  
• Decaying animals may result in high amounts of airborne disease.

At this point, common long-term survival preparations are needed in addition to those to handle cooler and more erratic weather and shorter growing seasons.  There is a tremendous amount of detail regarding a long-term sustainable meal plan that is important. How much do I need to plant and how many animals do I need to raise.  The Prepper Handbook by JR Ray on Amazon covers all of this in great detail, so we will not duplicate it here.  

For additional information click on the link below:

Blog Table of Contents

Gas Mask
EMP Survival 
Nuclear Survival
Post Nuke Plan
List of TOP Prepper Sites
Red Flag Warnings its time to bugout 
The SHTF Day One 

The First 5 Things To Do After a Crisis 
The good news about nuclear destruction

List of TOP Prepper Sites

 

The First 5 Things To Do After a Crisis

You’re at work when all of the sudden one of your co-worker’s shouts with a terrible shriek, “Did you hear?” He can see the confused look on your face and explains, “The financial markets just collapsed and everyone’s running to the bank and ATMs.” What should we do?

Preparing for civil unrest in your town is much like prepping for bugging in during any other emergency or weather disaster. You should have plenty of food, water, batteries, medicine and first aid, an alternative cooking method, fuel and lighting for your family for a week.

Our friends at Cheaper Than Dirt have a weekly blog with some really good topics.  I suggest you sign up to receive it each week.  To read more about what you should do immediately upon realizing a crisis has or is happening, click HERE. 

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Could you survive THIS?

A skyscraper-sized asteroid will fly by Earth on Halloween, according to scientists, who say that the object was only discovered 10 days ago.   See Fox News Link

Here is how to do it: Surviving an Asteroid Impact