Would you want to know?

Hi guys.

As many of you already know how much I am fascinated by mysterious science I found this very interesting.

An asteroid the size of a tour bus zipped by Earth on (June 27) in a flyby so close that the space rock was nearer to the planet than some satellites, giving skywatchers and astronomers a tantalizing target for photos.

The space rock, called asteroid 2011 MD, reached its closest point to Earth just after 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT), when it crept within 7,500 miles (12,000 km) of Earth before whipping away again like a slingshot.
The asteroid was flying over the southern Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Antarctica, at the time of its closest approach.

What makes it so scary, our government did not see it until it was well within our gravitational field. If it was something that could have caused severe damage, we would not have had time to warn any of the citizens.

So here is my question, should we stop wasting money in various overseas conflicts and focus it here at home on various needs for our citizens?
If you could be warned of a dangerous asteroid but could not do anything about it, would you want to know

I guess so, it might look pretty as it approached, and would be a sight of a lifetime.  Not that I'd want it to necessarily be the last thing I would see.

I think the government ought to be focusing funds on the american people and their immediate needs much more than looking out for the rest of the world and outer space.  Secondly we need to get off this planet, so I would hope they are working on that in earnest.  It *will* eventually cease to exist so maybe would be nice to get humans out there to another world or two.  Or more.

I would so I could make sure I was with my family when it happened

I just saw a program about the galaxy.  Can't recall the terms but if something from space erupted and shot towards earth.... warning wouldn't matter.  We would all be toast.

Yea another point in being about our billions spent in the space race huh?

I don't think that asteroid was too dangerous, the military could have blasted it out with a missile if it was getting too close.

          Oh yeah, Wnanhee,  I would definitely want to know.  I'd have to throw like one monster party and that takes preparation!!!

I definately wouldn't want to know...there's nothing you can do to save yourself from it and there's not enough time to make final amends so basically i'd be spending my last minutes scared shitless knowing i'm about to die!! Not to mention the added stress of all the panic going on from everyone else...it would be  total chaos!

A couple of possibilities there.
One is an Xflare, which happens frequently; it can take out satellites and disrupt our daily lives.
Another is a Coronal Mass Ejection, which is a solar flare on a smaller scale.
If a star goes Supernova, if it's close enough, the radiation could kill life on this planet (think about Nick Cage's movie Knowing)
The last could be a Black Hole, some are stationary, some are not. It is thought the earth collided with a very small Black Hole around the Tunguska area in Siberian USSR back in 1908.
Any of which would be bad news for some or all of us, but I would want to know so I could be with my family and forget all my bills.

              Okay Wnanhee,  you' re kind of bringing me down (by the way Knowing was very creepy).  You keep talking like that and your not invited to the party!