GC023 Quantifying Chicken Little

Geek Counterpoint -- Your antidote to soundbite science!

We've all heard or read about some scare or another based on the potential future impact of an asteroid or comet. Often, the core issue behind such scares (leaving aside an occasionally over-excited member of the press) is weak communication between astronomers and the mass media. Not that it's due to any lack of trying. In this episode, I give you a bit of background on two impact risk scales -- one intended for communications between astronomers, and the other specifically meant for "public consumption."