Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Fire
Nov 9, 2011 10:08:09 GMT -5
Post by baydoll on Nov 9, 2011 10:08:09 GMT -5
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Wendy Wippel
Jerry Lee Lewis immortalized "Great Balls of Fire" in 1957, in a song recorded in (my current hometown) Memphis, TN. A slice of collective history. But a real "Great Ball of Fire" lurks on our collective horizon. One which sliced through our heavens, unseen, just last night.
Few know "great balls of fire" is a quintessentially southern expression that actually referred to Pentecost (its carnal use by Lewis scandalizing many a southern belle). The term, however, is an apt one for a purely natural phenomenon as well -- one that our government keeps a lookout for. NASA monitors the heavens for asteroids that may eventually impact earth.
And there are lots of them.
One expected to come much closer than last night's--potentially impacting earth--is expected in 2027. There's another possible hit in 2039. And another in 2075. And in 2080.
The fact is, asteroids (or pieces of them) hit the earth all the time. Meteors the size of the standard SUV hit the earth about 500 times a year, but most fall in the ocean or otherwise remote locations. (Only a handful annually reach the ears of interested scientists.)
Bigger ones, obviously, occur less frequently, but regularly. There are 175 known impact craters of substantial size, with some probably still hidden under ice or water). Chicxulub, one of the biggest impact craters on earth, was only recently discovered, underwater, off the Yucatan peninsula.
So the question is not if but when. It's only a matter of time. What would the (now seven billion) inhabitants of earth actually experience when the next big asteroid hits?
Based on a 10 km asteroid with an approximate weight of 1.31 tons (the size of the one that hit Chicxulub) the impact would unleash a destructive force greater than 2 million times the our most powerful atomic bomb.
As the asteroid approached it would push the atmosphere in front of it aside, creating a near vaccuum that would suck in material from the asteroid as well as earth (crust and ocean) into the gap.
At the same time, it's gravitational pull on the earth's crust would begin to create seismic events--earthquakes-- on the surface.
Fragmented material pulled into the atmospheric hole would ignite (due to friction with earth's atmosphere), falling to earth as a meteor shower ahead of the actual asteroid.
Intriguingly, an eyewitness of the only modern asteroid impact (Tunguska, 1908) documents this experience:
". . .the sky split in two …the split in the sky grew larger … a strong thump sounded, and I was thrown a few meters. … After that such noise came, as if rocks were falling or cannons were firing. The earth shook… I pressed my head down, fearing rocks would smash it." (N. V. Vasiliev, A. F. Kovalevsky, S. A. Razin, L. E. Epiktetova (1981). Eyewitness accounts of Tunguska )
(The Tunguska meteor, it is believed, actually disintegrated right before it hit the earth. But eventually another one will impact.)
An asteroid the size of Chicxulub, on impact, will instantly vaporize a thick layer of rock. If it lands in the ocean (statistically likely) it will push enough water aside to hit the ocean floor (Chicluxub did).
Since tsunami height depends on both distance from impact and the energy of impact, we can make a pretty good guess on the real-world effects of a 10 km asteroid hitting in the Pacific Ocean (the world's largest). A 10 km asteroid striking 2000 km off shore would create a tsunami roughly a quarter mile high.
In other words, a 10 km asteroid striking anywhere in the Pacific Ocean would wipe out pretty much the entire Pacific Rim.
Water rushing back over the superheated crater floor will also produce successive tsunamis, as will ongoing shifts of the crust (like aftershocks) after impact.
Vaporized rock, incredibly hot, will unleash a firestorm in all directions from the point of impact, scorching the earth and its vegetation. Propelled into the atmosphere, it will also spray like buckshot over much of the earth's surface, raining burning hail over much of the globe.
Much of vaporized matter will remain aerosolized in the atmosphere, causing a devastation all its own. Called impact winter, the dirt, dust and soot ejected into the atmosphere from meteor impact will block a significant amount of sunlight.
A series of volcanic eruptions from 1812-1815 produced this on a small scale: called the "Summer that Never Was" by American historians, temperatures normal for a New England winter persisted throughout the summer of 1816, with ice remaining in rivers and lakes through August. Frosts destroyed virtually all of the planted crops, the price of basic foods increased tenfold and many died. Seasons did not normalize for several years.
A devastating chain reaction will ensue: photosynthesis drops, oxygen levels decline as carbon dioxide levels soar, and suddenly food is in short supply. Much of the earth is covered in what seems to be an eternal twilight.
A blood red moon will hang over the devastated horizon; the abundance of airborne particulate matter scattering the shorter wavelengths of light (violet, blue and yellow), leaving only the orange and red to reach surviving eyes. ("Blood moons" occur regularly after volcanic eruptions.)
In the oceans, populations of microscopic algae, in response to falling oxygen levels in the polluted water,explode in a phenomenon called red tide. Large patches of the ocean's surface turn blood red as well.
Superheating of the atmosphere produces chemical alterations: nitrogen and oxygen (at higher temperatures) react with atmospheric water.
N2 + O2 produces NO, then NO + O2 produces NO2. The skies produce nitrous and nitric acid, which fall to earth as acid rain.
Fresh water sources are then polluted as well. Scientists predict that acid rain caused by meteor impact could last for as long as year.
A dire scenario, indeed. Who will survive?
Funny, that's exactly what the people on earth will ask. This chain of events is described in starting detail in the book of Revelation, starting in Chapter 6. Remember that John is describing, as best he can, what he is being shown in a vision.
With the sixth seal:
• a great earthquake;
• the sun becomes black as sackcloth of hair (presumably as asteroid passes in front of it)
• the moon becomes "like blood".
• "stars" fall to earth "as a fig tree drops its late figs when shaken by a mighty wind.) (the meteor shower ahead of impact)
• the sky recedes as a scroll when s rolled up, (just as the Tunguska survivor describes
• mountains and islands moved (The earthquake produced by the asteroid's gravitation pull is estimated to be 12.5 on the Richter scale.)
• men try to find somewhere to hide.
With the first trumpet: hail and fire burn up trees and other vegetation.
With the second trumpet: a great mountain burning with fire is thrown into the seas, seas turn red and boats destroyed.
With the third trumpet: a blazing star destroys fresh water sources.
With the fourth trumpet: a substantial decrease in sunlight.
Can we know for sure that Revelation is describing an asteroid impact? No. But we do know for sure that one is eventually coming, and the fact that Revelation describes the exact effects of an impact event--in the exact order they would occur-- is hard to dismiss.
The people on earth at that time will ask: "Who can survive?" We do know for sure that one-third of humanity will not. (Revelation 9:15)
God's heart is that none should perish, but at that point there will be no escape. But we can turn them back today.
I know I need to be reminded.
www.omegaletter.com/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=7158
Wendy Wippel
Jerry Lee Lewis immortalized "Great Balls of Fire" in 1957, in a song recorded in (my current hometown) Memphis, TN. A slice of collective history. But a real "Great Ball of Fire" lurks on our collective horizon. One which sliced through our heavens, unseen, just last night.
Few know "great balls of fire" is a quintessentially southern expression that actually referred to Pentecost (its carnal use by Lewis scandalizing many a southern belle). The term, however, is an apt one for a purely natural phenomenon as well -- one that our government keeps a lookout for. NASA monitors the heavens for asteroids that may eventually impact earth.
And there are lots of them.
One expected to come much closer than last night's--potentially impacting earth--is expected in 2027. There's another possible hit in 2039. And another in 2075. And in 2080.
The fact is, asteroids (or pieces of them) hit the earth all the time. Meteors the size of the standard SUV hit the earth about 500 times a year, but most fall in the ocean or otherwise remote locations. (Only a handful annually reach the ears of interested scientists.)
Bigger ones, obviously, occur less frequently, but regularly. There are 175 known impact craters of substantial size, with some probably still hidden under ice or water). Chicxulub, one of the biggest impact craters on earth, was only recently discovered, underwater, off the Yucatan peninsula.
So the question is not if but when. It's only a matter of time. What would the (now seven billion) inhabitants of earth actually experience when the next big asteroid hits?
Based on a 10 km asteroid with an approximate weight of 1.31 tons (the size of the one that hit Chicxulub) the impact would unleash a destructive force greater than 2 million times the our most powerful atomic bomb.
As the asteroid approached it would push the atmosphere in front of it aside, creating a near vaccuum that would suck in material from the asteroid as well as earth (crust and ocean) into the gap.
At the same time, it's gravitational pull on the earth's crust would begin to create seismic events--earthquakes-- on the surface.
Fragmented material pulled into the atmospheric hole would ignite (due to friction with earth's atmosphere), falling to earth as a meteor shower ahead of the actual asteroid.
Intriguingly, an eyewitness of the only modern asteroid impact (Tunguska, 1908) documents this experience:
". . .the sky split in two …the split in the sky grew larger … a strong thump sounded, and I was thrown a few meters. … After that such noise came, as if rocks were falling or cannons were firing. The earth shook… I pressed my head down, fearing rocks would smash it." (N. V. Vasiliev, A. F. Kovalevsky, S. A. Razin, L. E. Epiktetova (1981). Eyewitness accounts of Tunguska )
(The Tunguska meteor, it is believed, actually disintegrated right before it hit the earth. But eventually another one will impact.)
An asteroid the size of Chicxulub, on impact, will instantly vaporize a thick layer of rock. If it lands in the ocean (statistically likely) it will push enough water aside to hit the ocean floor (Chicluxub did).
Since tsunami height depends on both distance from impact and the energy of impact, we can make a pretty good guess on the real-world effects of a 10 km asteroid hitting in the Pacific Ocean (the world's largest). A 10 km asteroid striking 2000 km off shore would create a tsunami roughly a quarter mile high.
In other words, a 10 km asteroid striking anywhere in the Pacific Ocean would wipe out pretty much the entire Pacific Rim.
Water rushing back over the superheated crater floor will also produce successive tsunamis, as will ongoing shifts of the crust (like aftershocks) after impact.
Vaporized rock, incredibly hot, will unleash a firestorm in all directions from the point of impact, scorching the earth and its vegetation. Propelled into the atmosphere, it will also spray like buckshot over much of the earth's surface, raining burning hail over much of the globe.
Much of vaporized matter will remain aerosolized in the atmosphere, causing a devastation all its own. Called impact winter, the dirt, dust and soot ejected into the atmosphere from meteor impact will block a significant amount of sunlight.
A series of volcanic eruptions from 1812-1815 produced this on a small scale: called the "Summer that Never Was" by American historians, temperatures normal for a New England winter persisted throughout the summer of 1816, with ice remaining in rivers and lakes through August. Frosts destroyed virtually all of the planted crops, the price of basic foods increased tenfold and many died. Seasons did not normalize for several years.
A devastating chain reaction will ensue: photosynthesis drops, oxygen levels decline as carbon dioxide levels soar, and suddenly food is in short supply. Much of the earth is covered in what seems to be an eternal twilight.
A blood red moon will hang over the devastated horizon; the abundance of airborne particulate matter scattering the shorter wavelengths of light (violet, blue and yellow), leaving only the orange and red to reach surviving eyes. ("Blood moons" occur regularly after volcanic eruptions.)
In the oceans, populations of microscopic algae, in response to falling oxygen levels in the polluted water,explode in a phenomenon called red tide. Large patches of the ocean's surface turn blood red as well.
Superheating of the atmosphere produces chemical alterations: nitrogen and oxygen (at higher temperatures) react with atmospheric water.
N2 + O2 produces NO, then NO + O2 produces NO2. The skies produce nitrous and nitric acid, which fall to earth as acid rain.
Fresh water sources are then polluted as well. Scientists predict that acid rain caused by meteor impact could last for as long as year.
A dire scenario, indeed. Who will survive?
Funny, that's exactly what the people on earth will ask. This chain of events is described in starting detail in the book of Revelation, starting in Chapter 6. Remember that John is describing, as best he can, what he is being shown in a vision.
With the sixth seal:
• a great earthquake;
• the sun becomes black as sackcloth of hair (presumably as asteroid passes in front of it)
• the moon becomes "like blood".
• "stars" fall to earth "as a fig tree drops its late figs when shaken by a mighty wind.) (the meteor shower ahead of impact)
• the sky recedes as a scroll when s rolled up, (just as the Tunguska survivor describes
• mountains and islands moved (The earthquake produced by the asteroid's gravitation pull is estimated to be 12.5 on the Richter scale.)
• men try to find somewhere to hide.
With the first trumpet: hail and fire burn up trees and other vegetation.
With the second trumpet: a great mountain burning with fire is thrown into the seas, seas turn red and boats destroyed.
With the third trumpet: a blazing star destroys fresh water sources.
With the fourth trumpet: a substantial decrease in sunlight.
Can we know for sure that Revelation is describing an asteroid impact? No. But we do know for sure that one is eventually coming, and the fact that Revelation describes the exact effects of an impact event--in the exact order they would occur-- is hard to dismiss.
The people on earth at that time will ask: "Who can survive?" We do know for sure that one-third of humanity will not. (Revelation 9:15)
God's heart is that none should perish, but at that point there will be no escape. But we can turn them back today.
I know I need to be reminded.
www.omegaletter.com/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=7158
