February 16th

I'm worried by the meteor hit in Russia's Ural Mountains. It landed in a lake near Chebarkul rather than on top of the town. I can imagine how frightening it must have been for the residents nearby. The shock waves knocked out windows and, besides injuring nearly 1,000 people with flying glass, must have damaged eardrums. Mothers would have hugged their children to combat the fear of the unknown. In times of stress, it is natural to think of our families and pull together to help each other.

www.thetimes.co.uk

Thank goodness the 2012 DA 14 passed by at its closest at 19.25 GMT on Friday without a hitch as charted. The experts say they can't predict every rock of flying debris heading our way. A worrying report in the BBC news notes how little warning we had about several other comets over the past few years. Click here to read the full story. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21459861 Space rocks can take us by surprise at any time. 

Astronomers don't know anything about many near-Earth asteroids that are 20 times larger and radically heavier than this week's visitor. Any of these up to 1 km rocks could be civilization-ending.

A spokesperson at the University of Kent reported that they were far from having the problem covered. Some help is potentially at hand - the dedicated Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System or Atlas, designed to give at least a few days' notice of impending asteroids by scanning the whole sky every night. Also, amateur asteroid enthusiasts share vital information. But the problem remains. We could be taken unaware by a completely unknown asteroid at any time.

iStockphoto

 The best thing to do is live each day as if it will be your last. How often do we suffer from the, 'if only'  thoughts when a beloved pet or relative dies? Love your family and those around you now. I've often read these, or similar, words from wise men, 'Now is the only reality'.