Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

PixelPervert t1_j4e2hxl wrote

The nearest star to Earth is over 25 trillion miles away

19

YesWeHaveNoTomatoes t1_j4e3tvy wrote

The chances that you personally will be hit and killed by a meteorite? Effectively zero. Significantly smaller than your chance of being eaten by a shark while being struck by lightning.
The chances that a world-destroying asteroid will hit the Earth without warning are also effectively zero. NASA tracks all the medium-sized and larger asteroids that will, have, or may cross or approach Earth's orbit, and none (total zero) of the ones big enough to destroy a large area like a city are likely to hit us in the lifetime of anyone now alive.

11

MobOnAHighHorse t1_j4e4l3x wrote

If I flung you into space and you continued to travel forever, youd likely not ever hit a single thing.

9

Alex_butler t1_j4e9q1u wrote

That’s almost a scarier thought than hitting something

1

MadMelvin t1_j4e3un6 wrote

Meteors move very fast across the sky; they don't look anything like stars. Almost all meteors you see are very small and burn to ash before they hit the ground.

6

Ok_District2853 t1_j4eb378 wrote

It really is amazing what an effective shield 40 thousand some odd feet of air provides.

1

sg3niner t1_j4e5hxe wrote

Space is big.

REALLY big.

99.999999999999% of stuff is incomprehensibly far from you.

You can reliably worry more about dying from an attack by a hippopotamus, that you should worry about anything from space hurting you.

Except the sun. Wear sunscreen. Seriously.

4

MoreSecretsThanYou t1_j4e49ui wrote

The chance of a star besides the sun coming close enough to kick the earth out of the solar system is 1/100,000 in the next 5 BILLION years. The chance of another star colliding with the sun or us is astronomically unlikely. We would have known about any near earth meteor big enough to cause extinction for a long time now.

3

neverslipsorsleeps t1_j4e67g2 wrote

I have no science to offer you, just encouragement. For years, I had a weird mild phobia of starry sky. It would make me physically sick. Over time, it went away, thankfully, probably around the age of 25 or so.

3

SSgtPieGuy t1_j4e9qhk wrote

To ease your worries, there are entire teams dedicated to the observation of asteroids and their potential risk to our planet. Plus the testing of planetary defense systems has had notable results, even if it was just a test against a non-threatening object. In terms of stars and other interstellar objects... The threat to our planet is, at worst, extremely miminal. Most supernovae candidates are at a relatively safe distance from us. And the chance of an exo-planet or star swinging through our solar system is practically non-existent.

The biggest threat to the planet is living on the planet... They're these weird, bipedal creatures called "humans."

1

throwawaymanop OP t1_j4w5fjg wrote

Thanks everyone! Hope this also helps some others too…

1