Not only is the "maniac" in theWhite House probably entirely
clueless about the flyby of TU24 and probably every other
space object in the Universe, but he could not supress the
discovery of an object on a collision course with Earth if he
wanted to.
Many astronomers besides NASA are monitoring TU24 and none
of them see it coming even as close as the Moon is to us. If
such a NEO did threaten Earth, there would be plenty of alarms
about it by now. You simply cannot hide such a thing.
Are you familiar with Apophis? Astronomers are already saying there
is a chance of impact in 2039.
You are right about one thing, though; a large impact in certain
places on this planet might be mistaken for a nuclear strike. All
the more reason to support every NEO observatory program and
make more, especially in the Southern Hemisphere.
Space/Science » in reply to re: Sky & Telescope article and sky map on TU24
A little reality here