Asteroid Hunters and Parenting!

“Asteroids could be heading for Earth right now, and the world should not have to live in fear. At least that’s the message of a group of scientists and former astronauts working on the issue.”  http://news.yahoo.com/asteroid-hunters-announce-first-private-deep-space-mission-194050042–abc-news-tech.html

OK, problem solved. We will be warned about any large asteroids about to slam into the Earth. That’s comforting! These guys are going to launch a telescope that would “keep an eye out” for asteroids heading our way. I need to launch a top notch, high-tech, parental telescope that would alert me to any BS headed my way. Of course that thing would be going off constantly.

Looking after kids and hunting asteroids are pretty much alike. Some scientists say that an asteroid impact on Earth may have contributed to the extinction of the mighty dinosaurs, just about 65 million years ago. Having kids, and especially twins at midlife has just about wiped me out, completely. Like they say, I used to have functioning brain cells, and then I had kids.

All asteroids orbit our sun. But my young asteroids orbit the hell out of me all the time. I’ve read that Trojan asteroids are trapped by gravity in Jupiter’s orbit. This is what it feels like to be a parent.  Gravity has trapped all of us together and it’s quite claustrophobic at times, especially during “the family vacation” and surely over the long, summer break from school.

Asteroids are made up of rock and metal. That’s some heavy stuff to be flying around in outer space. And at times, my kids are just like those heavy, dense objects. They don’t hear me, they don’t respond at times, and they are mostly on a collision course with their parents. Does any of this sound familiar to you?

So let’s leave it up to the asteroid hunters!  As my little asteroids mature, hopefully instead of orbiting the Mother Ship, they will find a new and exciting orbit…….. way out there, maybe Mars??