CNN’s image editing team has combined forces with CNN’s caption writing team for maximum impact in this story about Asteroid 2004 MN4…

Drawing of an asteroid striking Earth

I don’t know what’s sillier. That they decided to show a picture of an asteroid, that they decided to show it striking the Earth in true Hollywood Blockbuster style, or that it’s got attractive uplighting.

Bizarrely, the thing somehow reminds me of a headshot from one of those online dating sites…

ASTEROID SEEKS PLANET FOR POSSIBLE COLLISION IN 2029. ME: SBA (SINGLE BROWN ASTEROID) WITH ATHLETIC 1300 FOOT LONG FRAME. YOU: SBP (SINGLE BLUE-GREEN PLANET) WITH NICE ATMOSPHERE. SHOULD LIKE LONG TSUNAMIS ON BEACH.

BTW, here’s a nice description of the Torino Scale (used to indicate asteroid and comet impact hazard predictions). Asteroid 2004 MN4 is the first “2”. Amusingly, they point out that “the Torino scale value for any object initially categorized as 1 or greater will change with time”. If you look at the chart, you’ll see that everything would eventually have to end up at 0, 8, 9, or 10.