Ask Lemmy

Stop looking up

Volunteer at NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office to help in any way possible.

The Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) is a planetary defense organization established in January 2016 within NASA's Planetary Science Division of the Science Mission Directorate.[3] It includes a Near Earth Observations Program which funds telescopic searches and orbit calculations.[4]

Its mission is to look for and catalogue near-Earth objects such as comets, asteroids, and potentially hazardous objects that could impact Earth, as well as help the U.S. government prepare for a potential impact event (and coordinate efforts to mitigate and deflect potential threats if one is detected).[5]

NASA is a signatory to the International Asteroid Warning Network, operated by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.

This is an all-hands-on-deck scenario, and they'll have the best shot at a counter or mitigation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_impact_avoidance

Asteroid impact avoidance encompasses the methods by which near-Earth objects (NEO) on a potential collision course with Earth could be diverted, preventing destructive impact events. An impact by a sufficiently large asteroid or other NEOs would cause, depending on its impact location, massive tsunamis or multiple firestorms, and an impact winter caused by the sunlight-blocking effect of large quantities of pulverized rock dust and other debris placed into the stratosphere.

In 2022, NASA spacecraft DART impacted Dimorphos, reducing the minor-planet moon's orbital period by 32 minutes. This mission constitutes the first successful attempt at asteroid deflection.[15] In 2027, China plans to launch a deflection mission to the near-Earth object 2015 XF261, with the impact estimated to occur in April 2029.[16]

If they don't already have a system organizing volunteers, go look for a third party doing so. That'll let some efforts start while they get people looped in.

If humanity dies in six months, it won't be because I haven't done everything I can to avoid it.

Personally, I think that in a real shit-is-hitting-the-fan-for-humanity-as-a-whole scenario, the kind of thing where you'd likely see essentially the sum total of humanity's resources and capabilities directed at one goal, you'd probably see some pretty remarkable things getting done pretty quickly.

Celebrate the death of the billionaires who believe they will survive in space in an asteroid/destroyed-earth debris field. They will die terrified.

They would never announce it that early.

It would have to be leaked, and no one would believe them

Approach the claims made by "they" with skepticism.

Assuming this asteroid is really going to hit and "they" are correct, prepare to die within the next 1-2 months. Practically no one would keep generating and transporting food for consumption outside their local/family use. Money would become useless. Folks would either starve or off themselves first. Folks who have substantial food gardens would be attacked or their stores "requisitioned" by whoever claims government authority via show of force. Folks with preserved food stores might last the 6 months if they were to do a really good job hiding that they have access to calories.

Again, assuming this is a for sure event that will happen, I would probably off myself when I run out of food to beat the pain of starvation. In the meantime, I'd be sourcing a method of doing so that is painless, high probability of success, and not reliant on electricity because that is also breaking down quickly.

Were you looking for an answer along the lines of drinking mai tais on a beach? I might do that as a smooth transition for the poison or other method selected to off myself before pain and violence reach me.

Bask in the complete relief of tension.

Panic because I can't decide what to do, so that I become practically paralyzed and then have a sudden genius idea that would take me a few months to do. I'd have that idea around the moment the asteroid enters the atmosphere.

Go on as usual … maybe stockpile some more 🧻 than I normally would.

Becoming a sex slave to a billionaire so I can hitch a ride on their spaceship

Ngl they'd try to hide it from us to stop the economy from crashing

Feel strangely relieved, because there's finally an end in sight.

Before kids and marriage I'd have had a sort of nihilistic "Ah fuck it, you gotta go sometime" attitude and gleefully embraced the chaos.

Now I think id just put on a brave face, protect them as best I can, and weep in private at every opportunity.

Fuck raw.

Smoke weed and write more music

create a worldwide network of people that sabotage every rich or powerful asshole from saving themselves, damning the human species to extinction.

Edge for 6 months and have an earth shattering orgasm before the earth shatters.

Cry because i've waisted my life and will never get the chance to experience happiness.

Shit, I don't know. I'm a janitor at a preschool. There really isn't anything I can do

Fuck Liv Tyler and then go save the planet.

I honestly don't know. Firstly, work can go fuck itself beyond that, probably take me and my family around the country as much as possible. I say country because flying requires other employed people not telling work to go fuck itself like majority of people would.

Cancel all the work I've got lined up and go on a drug induced spending spree to try and use up all my savings.

your mom

Quit our jobs.

We would stop paying the mortgage, assuming anyone is even still at the bank it would take longer than 6 months to evict us.

Then we'd just hang out with our dog and do as much fun stuff as we could

Buy all the drugs. Enjoy until bye bye time.

I don't know! I've already got enough shit to worry about and now you want me to contemplate imminent doom.

I'd be doing what I can to survive the waves of mass hysteria that would be killing a whole lot of people.

Only 6 months to go for finally play all games in my steam library.

Pack the tent and camping gear in my car, and take my kids on an epic camping trip across Europe.

Start drinking again.

Quit grad school and blow all my money having fun.

Like I really enjoy grad school...but there's not much use learning stuff and doing research if there's no one left to need it in six months.

I would honestly feel less stressed. Like I would obviously mourn the death of all life on Earth, I'm not an accelerationist, but it would bring me some solace in my final moments to watch capitalism die.

Alright OP, what do you know?

Bake stuff and eat it.

Start digging

I'm tired boss.

Start living