We heard a tale at church today about a mysterious comet that was going to come close to earth “on September 11, 2011”, so close that it could even tilt the earth off its axis. Dramatic, right? Ties in with prophecy? Not exactly. The very date claimed should give you pause for thought. A highly unlikely coincidence, I thought.
Our advice to the brother who brought this: check it out on a website like Truth or Fiction.com which is pretty good at demolishing the rubbish that flies through the ether. Pat and I always assume that information that is given us is wrong until it is proven otherwise. We check and check some more. So, relax, the earth is probably safe for a few more months….
I went on to a NASA website: after all, they are in the space business. Below is what one of their experts said to a questioner. In passing, this is a warning to all readers and correspondents. Never trust anything sent to you on e-mails, even if it sounds right and even if you know the person who sends it.
For something to be proven accurate you need to know the following- at least: 1) The date, time and location of the event/speech/news story.
2) When and where was it published/broadcast and how do you know? Did you personally read or hear it? Have you seen a copy of the speech or whatever?
3) What is the status of the reporter/politician/commentator and are they known as truthful?
4) How do you know this is not a doctored report: have you checked the originator’s website?
5) If someone sends you something without any source, date, time or proper verification, assume it is wrong and delete it, then tell them to check before clogging up your inbox with false reports.
Satan loves to spread misinformation. He is the father of lies. So getting Christians chasing their tails- or the tails of comets- is a good tactic. Don’t fall for it. The Lord is Truth. Truth is vital, not just important. Be sure something is true before forwarding it.Now here is the truth about comet Elenin.
Question: I've recently heard about the discovery of comet Elenin, which is scheduled to come close to earth around October-November 2011 – Is it possible it will be an extinction level event? AND Comet Elenin: How close to earth will it get? And can we expect it to cause any damage? AND I have read that Russian scientists are now predicting that asteroid Apophis will impact the Earth April 13 2036 causing terrible damage. I understand that the Russians are planning a mission to stop the asteroid.
Answer: Both Comet Elenin and Asteroid Apophis are real, but these concerns about collisions are without foundation. Unfortunately there are a few popular websites that are known for suggesting multiple catastrophes, including popularizing the 2012 hoax.
Two that show up in any search for “Comet Elenin” are godlikeproductions and abovetopsecret, both of which predict either a very close pass by Earth or a collision. If instead you consult dependable websites like wikipedia and skyandtelescope you will find that Comet Elenin will come nowhere near the Earth.
At its closest (in mid-October) it will be about 30 million km from our planet. There is no mystery about the comet’s path, and it is irresponsible to suggest that it is a threat. In the past few days another silly rumor has appeared on godlikeproductions.
They claim that the comet's discoverer, Russian amateur astronomer Leonid Elenin, does not exist, and the name is a code based on ELE = Extinction Level Event. This is not only wrong but crazy. Do they think that if anyone really wanted to keep this comet secret they would use an obvious code like this to tell us that it was likely to hit Earth? Truly weird!
Concerning asteroid Apophis, the report of Russian scientist predictions of an impact is false. Apparently it is a reworking of issues that scientists were discussing 2-3 years ago, when for a time it was thought that there was a very small chance of a collision with Apophis in 2036, but recent improvements in our knowledge of the orbit now exclude the possibility.
This story about a Russian prediction has been repeated so often that NASA actually made a public correction in an interview with JPL scientist Don Yeomans, who leads the NASA Near Earth Object Program Office. The lesson here is to know your sources of information. Wikipedia is almost always accurate, and so are the government NASA and NOAA and Geologic Survey websites. In contrast, there are many conspiracy theory websites that are usually misleading or wrong. Please try to learn the difference so you won’t get upset or worried over nothing.
February 17, 2011
