Falling Satellite Path About to Enter Earth's Atmosphere
The falling satellite plummeting toward Earth is expected to re-enter the atmosphere between 11 p.m. Friday and 3 a.m. Saturday ET, NASA has reported Friday evening.
"During that time period, the satellite will be passing over Canada, Africa and Australia, as well as vast areas of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. The risk to public safety is very remote," the space agency said.
NASA is still not able to determine exactly where the falling satellite debris will hit the Earth, and the late night comedian Stephen Colbert took notice, and mocked the agency in his show Thursday night.
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The space agency has indeed stated that its Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), or rather its debris, will hit the Earth’s surface “somewhere between 57 degrees north and 57 degrees south, which means it will be anywhere from northern Canada to southern South America.”
“That is truly the best estimation we can give you at this point of time," the agency stated.
Colbert mocked NASA’s vague estimates by pulling out a globe and pointing out that the “evacuation zone” involves pretty much the entire planet.
“Let’s just pray it [satellite] lands somewhere where it can’t do any damage. Like Detroit,” the comedian joked.
He also mocked the agency’s inability to estimate the exact time of the event.
"According to NASA's calculations, Americans have either until Saturday morning to evacuate the earth or they were vaporized two hours ago," he told the exhilarated audience.
According to the estimates released by NASA, only people living near the North or South Pole would theoretically be safe from being hit by a falling piece of the satellite, Colbert pointed out.
The satellite is expected to enter the Earth’s atmosphere late Friday or early on Saturday.
Still, the agency predicts that the chance of someone getting hit by pieces of the UARS is 1-in-3,200.
Some specialists even say that that estimate is still inaccurately high, and that the odds are about 1 in 21 trillion, since the risk is spread across almost all of Earth’s 6.7 billion inhabitants.
Colbert also poked fun at the media, which aggravate the threat.
“UARS all gonna die!” the comedian mocked.
