Apparently there is a 6 tonne satellite going to crash into earth early this evening (UK time).
Fortunately it will break up into smaller pieces but the largest is the weight of an average man. So that's alright then. It is expected that the debris will cover an area of up to 300 miles wide and will be travelling at about 240mph when it hits. Ouch!
What are the chances of being hit by 1 of these pieces? Guess anyone? 1 in 21 trillion. The odds are better on winning the Euromillions lottery so I've bought a ticket. Tomorrow, I will either be celebrating big style, nursing a bump to the head, or carrying on as normal and washing my windows.
Helpfully the advice from the UK Space Agency is if you spend all day looking at the sky, you are more likely to bump into something and hurt yourself that way than be hit by falling debris. And don't bother trying to get out of range (head for Scotland). You are more likely to have an accident travelling than be hit by debris.
In summary, the way to avoid being hit by a falling satellite is to stay indoors, just in case you are the 1 in 21 trillionth person.
Good luck everyone!
Washing your windows? Hello? You just survived the apocalypse. Wouldn't a G&T be more appropriate?
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