ASTEROID “2012 KT42”? WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!

From SpaceWeather:

Space Weather News for May 29, 2012

ASTEROID FLYBY: A small asteroid is flying past Earth today inside the orbit of geosynchronous satellites and only 14,000 km above the surface of our planet. Named “2012 KT42,” the 3- to 10-meter wide space rock ranks #6 on the top-20 list of known close-approachers to Earth, which makes it significant despite its small size.  More information and images may be found on http://spaceweather.com .

Imagine something like this crashing into a populated area… perhaps one with a nuke plant.

That’s why we should all refresh our coffee supply with…

[CUE MUSIC]

… Mystic Monk Coffee!

Learning about asteroids flybys makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

You start wondering, “What aren’t they telling us?”

There could be, even now, a globe-killing fiery death asteroid hurtling at us RIGHT NOW.

So, relax and enjoy some swell Mystic Monk Coffee.

“But Father! But Father!”, you might be saying.  “I don’t have any Mystic Monk Coffee!”

No problem.

On a more serious note, I hope you all will sit down and think about what you would need to do, how to find your family, what to eat and drink, for a few days, how to stay safe, treat minor injuries, and get out of dodge if there were an emergency in your area.

Also, ask yourself how long it has been since you made your last good confession.  We don’t know the day or hour, friends.  Bad things happen like bolts of lightning from the blue to unsuspecting people all the time.  Just turn on the news and watch for a few minutes.  Pick up the paper.  Turn on the radio.  Examine your consciences carefully and go to confession regularly.  Make confession part of your routine, along with mowing the lawn, washing the car, paying your bills, doing the laundry, hoovering the floors.  Make an examination of conscience part of your daily routine, like fixing supper, doing the dishes, locking your doors at night.  If you check your email, shouldn’t you check your sins of omission and commission?  If you don’t want to wear filthy clothing, why walk around with a dirty soul?

Even though “2012 KT42” may not strike the earth today (if you believe them)…

…. you are going to die.  Get ready for that.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
This entry was posted in Global Killer Asteroid Questions, GO TO CONFESSION, Just Too Cool, Lighter fare, Look! Up in the sky!, TEOTWAWKI, Wherein Fr. Z Rants. Bookmark the permalink.

24 Comments

  1. BLB Oregon says:

    It’s a good idea to know which of your neighbors will need help, too. Lots of older people have families that have moved out of the local area. The old and the poor always seem to be hit the hardest when disaster strikes.

  2. EucharistLove says:

    I loved this post from the title to the last sentence. Thanks, Fr. Z. We’re all gonna die!!!

  3. lucy says:

    Thank you for the levity! The news of every day is so full of things to worry about (or give it to God to worry about), but this was a nice change of pace.

    I read it as I sat here drinking my Royal Rum Pecan with cream.

  4. Dies Irae says:

    “But Father! But Father! I don’t like coffee!!!!!”

    [How sad.]

  5. I love the post :) especially the last sentence. We are all going to die, the sooner we make peace with God and with that fact, the better off we are. As Saint Teresa of Avila said:

    Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and there is only one Glory, which is eternal. If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing.

    And,

    Let nothing trouble you,
    let nothing frighten you.
    All things are passing;
    God never changes.
    Patience obtains all things.
    He who possesses God lacks nothing:
    God alone suffices.

  6. benedetta says:

    I am just going to relax and enjoy some Mystic Monk Coffee! It IS swell!

  7. Maltese says:

    Father, all great advice!

    It kind of cracks me up when protestants wait for the Rapture, or the “end of the world”, or, what have you when the bell strikes for thee. None of us get off this rock alive, not one!

    That said, and I say this without jest, get yourselves a shotgun. There are some crazy and mean people out there, and if something breaks bad I’m sorry to say, but the good guys might be too busy protecting their own families to protect you.

    The sound of a shotgun charging is enough to scare a bad-guy; you can’t miss a bad-guy if you absolutely have no choice but to shoot him (trust me, untrained, trembling hands will miss the bad-guy nine times out of ten in stressful moments with, say, a Glock); and, and perhaps most importantly, you can kill prey and feed yourself with a shotgun (we in the south eat squirrel, and let me tell, them there is some good eaten’, just pluck the shot out your teeth!)

    It’s a misnomer that in times of calamity you’d be safe on a farm, in the woods, or what have you. The safest place is also not a big city, but a small town. There you will find community support and protection.

  8. Will D. says:

    3-10 meters? It would likely explode in the air, and cause very little damage on the ground.
    I really wish you’d find a hobby, Father, that didn’t involve predicting THE END OF THE WORLD every five minutes. Space Rocks, EMP’s, computer viruses, whatever.
    Yes, everyone will die, but chances are, it’ll be individually rather than in a cosmic Gamma Ray Burst. Be prepared, physically and spiritually, but don’t obsess about it.

  9. Indulgentiam says:

    @will D–
    Father IS doing his job and very well I might add. You are free to disregard his very good advice. I for one am MOST greatful for it.
    Here is a message for you for your own good pay attention.

    Matthew 24:38
    For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, even till that day in which Noe entered into the ark,

  10. APX says:

    @Maltese

    By the time I got into my locked gun cabinet, and unlocked the trigger lock, fetched my ammunition from another locked container stored separately from my gun, loaded my magazine with ammunition and loaded it into my gun, I’d be dead. I love Canadian gun laws.

  11. Will D. says:

    With respect, Indulgentiam, re-read my last sentence. Each one of us will meet our end, and odds are, it’ll be from an illness or a car wreck, not a Comet destroying all life on earth. Lay in practical supplies, go to Confession, and don’t spend time obsessing about what you can’t control.

  12. Andy Lucy says:

    Thank you, Fr, for writing occasionally about prep related subjects. Those of us who do advocate prepping are often looked at askance, as if we are some kind of unstable lunatic, slavering, waiting for the world to come to an end so we can finally say, “See??!!!! We bloody told you so!!!!!”

    Thank you, very much, for showing that normal folks can take an interest in prepping and not become crazed lunatics therefrom. lol

  13. pfreddys says:

    There is a show called “a 1001 ways to die” which seems to attract me when I’m channel surfing. Actually, I usually feel dirty after watching it. But in just about every case you have to wonder about the deceased’s status in the afterlife. I have often hoped that it indirectly does some good in giving people the message: “DONT die a sudden and UNPROVIDED for death.”
    Also, which is the greater gift from the All-Mighty: wine or coffee, that debate could last forever!

  14. Kerry says:

    Hmm…asteroid…black rock…and likes attract…yes?

  15. Maltese says:

    Actually I should have added, if you have teenage children, get them all pepper spray. The stuff works extremely well, and you can’t accidentally kill someone with it. I travel a lot, and my wife keeps it by her bedside at all times.

  16. Maltese says:

    @APX,

    That’s just sad. I’m a Second Amendment type, and like to have a gun handy to protect my five children. Though, equally, it is important to keep guns out of the wrong hands. It’s a dichotomy and balancing act, isn’t it?

  17. Can I come out of the bunker now?

  18. irishgirl says:

    Thanks for the warning AND the advice, Father Z! I’ve been trying to go to confession a little more often than I had in the past.
    I love the ‘Bookmark Prayer’ of St. Teresa of Avila; I particularly keep in mind the words, ‘All things are passing…God alone suffices’. Good ones to remember in these days when it looks like the world is going to ‘you-know-where’ in a hand basket.
    God is in charge….not man….I have to remind myself of that over and over again….

  19. AnAmericanMother says:

    maltese,

    A shotgun is not the Wide Ranging Cone of Instant Death it is reputed to be. Anybody can miss with a shotgun – I prove it every time I shoot skeet, sporting clays, or cowboy action. Untrained hands need to become well-trained hands, not hunt around for a foolproof firearm as it does not exist.

    There is something in the idea that the sound of a racking slide will scare the poo out of any burglar with a brain. On the other hand, you ought to already be in Condition Zero if there’s imminent trouble (my dad tells a great story about combat in northern Italy, when he went to hit the safety on his M-1 Carbine and dropped all his bullets in the street because he hit the magazine release by mistake.) And you give away your position and lose the advantage of surprise. On still another hand, a 28″ barrel is difficult to swing in close quarters and awkward to carry around.

    I’m not a real believer in pepper spray because I was accidentally sprayed one time years ago, and while it burned like the dickens and made it hard to see or breathe, I was by no means incapacitated. I’m sure they have improved the formula since then, but if somebody is drugged up enough to try a night home invasion, they are probably impervious to the stuff anyway. But certainly it’s better than nothing if you can’t rely on the dependable products of the Colt Firearms Manufacturing Company.

    A laser sight might be a good investment. That gently hovering red dot has much the same effect as the ka-CHUNK of the receiver closing, and target acquisition is amazingly quick (all those years practicing my sight picture seem to have been wasted!)

  20. Banjo pickin girl says:

    AnAmericanMother, You are correct that pepper spray does not deter someone on drugs which are painkillers such as cocaine. It relies on the feeling of pain for its effectiveness.

    A close friend had a burglar who wasn’t frightened by the slide racking so my friend stepped into the upstairs clsoet which was above the closet below and discharged a round into the floor (he was wearing ear muffs). The burglar left via the picture window.

    I am prepared but not too prepared. One mustn’t suspect everyone or judge books by covers.

  21. Indulgentiam says:

    @Will D—Thank you kindly for the respect :). One of my children is in that UGLY prepubescent stage and i get precious little of it. I agree with your last sentence and with everything in your second post. What I don’t agree with is your assessment that Father is “obsessing.” I should have been clearer about that and I apologize that I was not. I’ve read Fathers blog for a while now and I do not believe he is “obsessing.” Father is doing an admirable job of keeping our end before us. I run around all day and sure I say my prayers and my devotions but Father reminds me to take stock with greater regularity and intent. He redirects me in the sober manner that all good Priests posses. And I am very, very grateful to Our Lord for placing me in the sphere of so kind a shepherd. And of course greatful to Our Lady for Her intercession.

  22. acricketchirps says:

    A shotgun is not the Wide Ranging Cone of Instant Death it is reputed to be.

    Whoa, THAT brings me back! When I was an eleventh level magic user I actually HAD aWide Ranging Cone of Instant Death. Don’t try it on a vampire, btw–even just for fun!

  23. AnAmericanMother says:

    Cricket,
    I was rather partial to “TILTOWAIT”, but it was ineffective against Vampire Lords.
    sigh . . . them wuz the days. . . .
    Banjo pickn’ girl,
    That’s some story! Even with hearing protection I bet his ears were ringing. Our cowboy action club has a couple of scenarios where you shoot from inside a building (but hardly as small as a closet) and even with my custom ear protection the noise is much, much louder. But when the panic’s really on I guess you don’t notice the little stuff.

  24. aragonjohn7 says:

    Love the title

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