Humanity should worry about the potential for dangerous asteroid impact. Spreading hysterical rumours, however, is NOT good policy.
The latest conspiracy, which claims that a deadly asteroid will strike Puerto Rico between September 15 and 28, has gotten so out of control that even NASA has stepped into the fray.
NASA’s Near-Earth Object office has been prompted to speak to the press about how “there is no scientific basis – not one shred of evidence – that an asteroid or any other celestial object will impact Earth.”
Meteor impacts, meanwhile, can sometimes be unexpected. This is how we wound up with the Chelyabinsk meteor debacle, for example.
Of course, the rumours are claiming that the government knows about the approaching asteroid, while NASA is stressing that no “known object” is about to hit Earth.
The great thing about conspiracy theories is that they don’t exactly run on evidence – rather, they arise due to lack of evidence. Those who are inclined to believe rumours and stand around with “THE END IS NIGH” placards aren’t likely to back down in the face of NASA.
